The Musician
by Ringo-01
Summary: The Musician had always been the most hated Noah ever since he betrayed the group... Or did he really?  Co-authored by Confusion-no-Hime. SPOILER WARNINGS! Multiple pairings, mostly yaoi.
1. Prologue: And There Was Silence

**_Disclaimer: I do not own DGray-Man…_ **

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><p><strong>The Musician<strong>

**Prologue: And There Was Silence…**

"WATCH OUT!" Came a loud scream, as someone dashed across the bloodied courtyard.

The shout could be heard for miles and miles, but it was all for naught as the warning fell on unhearing ears.

"NO! STOP HIM!"

Pumping his legs even harder than what he thought was possible, he approached his intended target, all the while continuing to monitor the movement of _the other_. Inching bit by bit, with every distance covered, he was getting closer and closer to his goal. But so was his opponent.

'_Just a bit more! I can't let it end like this…No, I won't LET him defeat me like this!'_

Speed increasing even more at the thought, he raced towards his goal with all his might.

.

.

.

Ten meters.

...

.

Eight meters.

...

.

Five meters.

...

.

Three meters.

..

.

Two meters.

..

.

One meter.

..

.

.

A hand's breadth away…

Opponents reaching their target at the same time, the true winner of the closely-matched race became even more undeterminable as a strong flash of blinding, white light erupted, seemingly from the impact caused by their collision. Its intensity illuminating all corners, even the most minute cracks on the wide stone pavement, leaving the shadows with no place to hide.

A moment of stillness as darkness was fully enveloped by light, then color became distinguishable once more. With its return, revealing the great carnage surrounding the area, and two figures seemingly detached from the rest.

One kneeling, the other laying on his lap, being clutched tightly in his arms. Tears falling, flowing endlessly like a flood.

'… _like a flood. How… ironic.'_ Smirking morosely to himself at the unspoken joke, he tried to reach out his hand to the person holding him, but found it impossible as his strength drained without any restraint. Gathering all his strength for this final moment of awareness, he weakly called out to the other, giving a reminder of his promise which he expressed strong intent to fulfill. Not at present obviously, but he will keep it nevertheless.

"D-don't push…yourself t-too ha-hard…" Panting from the strain the short speech exerted on his body, he stubbornly continued to push on.

"I'll b-be…" Hacking violently, giving the impression that if he kept it up, he would be coughing out his lungs, he still stubbornly forced his speech, as though it were the most important words one had to say before they died, which in his case was not too far off.

Inhaling deeply as best as he could, miraculously the remaining words were clearly conveyed, despite his failing lungs.

"I'll be by your side no matter what happens…"

At that, he gave a final bittersweet smile, and a few seconds after, the breath left him, and his heart stilled. He was no more.

Face tear-streaked, the rugged gentleman continued to tightly clutch the unmoving young man to his chest. Moaning in agony at his companion's departure, he could do nothing else but mourn soulfully for his loss.

The death of his closest companion was a great blow to his sanity, but what was worse was the betrayal the other dealt him with at his final moments.

"Why? How could you even think of trying to kill me? That was so foolish of you, Nea…"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

After what seemed to be hours of mourning the body still in his arms, now cold and evidently without life, something stirred in the heaped rubbles at the far end of the demolished square.

Slowly approaching the yet hunched figure, the young girl softly called out. "It's time to get moving, Earl… We may have lost this round, but we are still alive. And as the only one left of my brothers for now, I promise you that I will protect you- and do it perfectly well that it will make up for the temporary loss of the other disciples. Even once everyone has returned, I will continue to do so, for I have lived to see and know of the outcome of the betrayal by our own blood."

"Each of our brethren will return, and when that time comes, we will make them all pay for their crimes and let them experience the brunt of our hatred." A glint of rage and insanity tinting the light of his eyes at the declaration, at the violent vow, the gentleman stood up, extending his hand towards the teen in invitation.

"Come, Road, we have much to prepare."

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><p><strong>AN: HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE~! \(^w^)/**

**1. Well, here's a New Year present for you all~ a new story intro to chew on until I get back to writing actively… Nyahaha~ (I didn't really want to publish this yet until I've finished writing the whole thing, but, it's either this or the other one… or the other, other one… (=_=|||) And this called out to me more… So, here it is~! XD) Hn... not too happy how it turned out here in ff though, since the spacing's all messed up, so the full effect has been somewhat wasted... T_T**

**2. Uber sorry for those following my story "What If"! I promise that I WILL finish it, maybe sometime this year… Well, I'll be busy for until about 2-3 more weeks since I'm out for internship, but after that, I can do more writing hopefully~~~ I know I'm lagging a lot, so very sorry for that!) **

**3. Oh, oh! Do check out Confusion no Hime's new fic if you haven't yet, a GrimmIchi pairing based on the manga Royal Fiance, titled "A Twisted Fairytale". Totally love how she's adapting it into Bleach version~! 3 (link here, just remove the spaces: http:/ www. fanfiction. net/s/7613564/1/A_Twisted_Fairy_Tale) Yeah, I'm shamelessly promoting a story I requested. LOL. BUT! Not only is the manga really uber nice, Con-Hime's work on it is really uber great, so I'd like to share it with all of you and hope you people would enjoy it too as much as I have(if not more)~! ;3**


	2. Chapter 1: Overture et Cadenza

**A/N (Rin): My friend has agreed to help me write the M-stuff, so this story is now effectively under the 'M' category. Let's all thank Con-Hime (Confusion no Hime) for that yeah? \(^w^)/**

**Therefore, from this chapter on, the story will be co-authored by Con-Hime as well. Thanks for the reviews, alerts, and faves for the last chappy(and for the show of enthusiasm for the pair~ ;D), Con-Hime and I both look forward to hearing more from you, dear readers! X3**

**A/N (Con-Hime):**** Hello, everyone~ This is actually my first time writing a -Man fic so I'm pretty excited. Nah! Scratch that. I'm really, really excited especially because I'll be working with Rin and working with her is an honor. Thanks so much for trusting me and my (lame) skills, bb. XDD**

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><p><strong>Disclaimers &amp; Warnings: <strong>

**Rin: I don't own DGray-Man… There will be a handful of lifting in the convos and scenes in here from the manga and -Man Reverse novel 3. I've changed it as best as I can to make it original, yet retain the essence, so please no complaining about it. The background is needed for the future chapters. **

**Con-Hime: ****Don't own DGray-Man or this plot. All the ideas, twists or original characters belong to my dear, Rin. I'm just here to help her out with the hot stuff.**

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><p><strong>The Musician<strong>

**Chapter 1: Overture et Cadenza* **

"_Each of our brethren will return, and when that time comes, we will make them all pay for their crimes and let them experience the brunt of our hatred." A glint of rage and insanity tinting the light of his eyes at the declaration, at the violent vow, the gentleman stood up, extending his hand towards the teen in invitation. _

"_Come, Road, we have much to prepare."_

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><p>Thirty years later…<p>

Clutching tightly on the rock protrusions as if hanging on with his very life on the line- which was technically true, considering the hundred-plus-meter drop he could look forward to should his grip and footing slip- he exhaled harshly as a gale of wind blew past, not at all helping him in his already precarious position.

He had wanted to use his Innocence to ease his way up the steep cliff, but after seeing its daunting height and his impending introduction, he decided against it. He had a feeling that his Innocence would run out of energy three-fourths through the climb, and he didn't really want to appear hostile and shock his more-than-potential hosts with the demonic appearance of his Innocence.

Granted, he has only ever seen one… No, make that **two** Innocence, from his Master of course. One looked normal enough, while the other… Less normal? But normal nevertheless. And from the way his Master reacted when he first showed his fully materialized Innocence, he guessed that it just didn't count under the usual 'normal' appearance.

… Well, considering that he himself was greatly lacking under the category of normalcy, he should have expected it…

Thus, the reluctance to openly use his Innocence until after full introductions at least.

An hour and a half later, he finally reached the zenith- which was thankfully, a flat surface. He lay on his back, breathing heavily, extremely exhausted both physically and mentally with the strain brought about by the long climb, coupled by the more than frequent gusts of wind which increased its frequency and strength the further up he went, causing him to more than once lose his balance and grip, and almost fall off, and the predicament perfected by his still-throbbing head- his Master's parting gift.

He certainly wouldn't die that easily, thanks to his Innocence, but it doesn't mean that not dying would equal to the experience not being painful, as what has been proved many-a-time by his sadistic Master. Shuddering at the horror the reminiscing brought, he reluctantly began to rise from his prone resting posture to finally proceed in completing the mission set by his Master- for him to become recognized and not deemed a threat by people who like him, were gifted with the Innocence. For him to officially become an exorcist.

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><p>8 years back…<p>

_Juggling neon-colored rubber balls with his feet while doing a single handstand on his right arm, as his left arm was mostly immovable, he tried his best to keep his balance despite having the mutt actively lave slobber on his face. A few more minutes of this however, he finally fell over with a sharp cry._

"_Ow! I thought I told you to stop doing that!" _

_The 7-year old boy grumbled, feeling mildly irritated while petting the dog. As if in response to his affections, the dog licked his 'deformed' arm as though to appease and show appreciation to his ministrations._

"_Heh, despite it being late winter, your tongue sure is warm."_

_Smiling at the dog and giving a vigorous scratch behind its ears, the dog gave a pleased bark before jumping over the boy, beginning to lick his face once more._

"_Okay! Okay! I think that's enough slobber from you!" _

_Spotting a tall dark shadow at the edge of the tent opening, he shoved the dog off of him, petting its head once more as it finally obeyed and calmed down. _

"_You'd better hurry along, I think your master's waiting for you."_

_A body squirmed under the rough blanket, breathing heavily and sweating profusely despite the winter morning's chill, his eyes opening abruptly as he took a deep, calming breath. Clutching at his chest like he had just faced his worst nightmare, the boy looked around the tent as though searching for something, although what it was, he himself did not know._

'_Something's not right…'_

_Looking at the still sleeping occupants around him, he noticed one of the sleeping mats bare. Shivering slightly at the cold, the boy began to dress, slightly flipping open the tent flap and cursed lightly, realizing that it was barely even the break of dawn. He did not need to get up until at least four more hours._

_Contemplating on whether he should go back to sleep again, he had forgone the idea when he realized that he had already fully dressed up. Slowly and silently stepping out of the tent, he breathed in the cool, crisp morning air of December, languidly stretching his back, sore from sleeping on the hard ground despite the use of a sleeping mat. Hearing a sound of scuffling somewhere behind the tent, he decided to approach and investigate what was causing it. Upon reaching the source of the disturbance however, he was highly unprepared with what he saw._

_A few meters away from the tent edge, beside the now bare maple tree, was a freshly-dug hole. Situated in the middle, lying on its side unmoving, with big, dark bruises all over, was the dog he had been playing around with just the day before._

'_A… A grave…?'_

_Silently making his approach towards the dead creature, his focus strongly absorbed by the surreal sight before him, he almost did not notice the man kneeling down beside it, had it not been for the outrageous crown costume. Eyes blank, mouth passive, he slowed his gait, hands shoved in his pockets, trying to appear indifferent, he bluntly voiced out his question to the older man._

"_Is it dead?"_

_Directing the other's attention towards him- it seems the man was also unaware of his approach, a few moments passed before the clown finally acknowledged his question, loneliness evident in his voice._

"_Yes. It's dead."_

_Continuing to prod the man, as the other began to pile soil on top of the dog, he pushed on. "… There's bruises all over him…"_

"_I'll bet it was that bastard Cosimov, for freaking sure."_

_The boy continued to rant, watching the older man's golden eyes glint with sadness in the dismal winter morning. The gold eyes which were darkened with unexpressed emotion. The gold eyes which seemed to tear at his heartstrings. The gold eyes which, despite having seen them only for the first time, seemed to stir something deep in his memory._

"_It's just because the audience liked you better…" The boy trailed off, as though addressing the now deceased dog. Keeping his eyes trained to the makeshift grave, he continued._

"_Whenever somebody with more talent than him comes around, he always bullies them. His performance is shit, but he's great at stuff like this." Surprised at the rather heated words coming from the boy, despite the deceptively calm appearance, the clown averted his eyes to stare at the now inanimate animal as he finally spoke._

"_Well, he was a very old dog. He probably wouldn't have lived much longer anyway."_

_The man spoke quietly, blandly, abruptly ending the boy's tirade, as though such a thing was unavoidable and should have been expected. Finished covering the grave, he began dusting off his hands and pants before giving a sort-of assurance to comfort the boy. Or maybe to his own self. Or to the both of them? The boy wasn't really sure._

"_It's alright."_

_Frowning, the boy gave a rather disgruntled "Hmph.". Eyebrows arching in a sign of annoyance, he rudely accused the clown, "You saying you don't wanna get back at him at all?"_

_Clapping his hands together in prayer, the clown did not hesitate in his following response._

"_If I did something like that, the boss would run me off and I'd have to work for free."_

_An irritated tick formed on the boy's forehead, clearly showing his displeasure at the other's apparent helplessness in the situation._

"_I'm just an outsider after all." A slight smile forming on his painted face, he pushed on._

"_Once Christmas is over with tomorrow, I'll be heading off somewhere else…"_

"_Is that so…" He couldn't believe that the dog's owner was this type of person who would not even cry for his companion of long. The clown finally returned his attention back on the young boy, giving a rather unexpected response._

"_Hmm…By the way, young man… Who are you again?"_

_Appearing to remain unaffected by the other's lack of recognition, the boy responded in a bored tone, "I do odd jobs here… I brought you food too, didn't I?"_

"… _I'm not good at remembering faces…" _

_Pausing shortly afterwards, the older man inched closer to the boy, reaching out his hand to the other's face. _

"_Hm? Now that I'm look closely, it seems you are covered in bruises too?"_

_Giving a lick on the boy's injury, much to the other's surprise and disgust, the boy gave a rather high-pitched roar, angered by what the man had done._

"_THAT'S NASTY! DON'T GET YOUR SPIT ON ME, DAMMIT!" Hackles raised against the clown's approach, the other tried to pacify him with an "I'm cleaning you up.", but such reasoning was obviously unaccepted._

"_It's antiseptic… Were you hit by Cosimov too?" A few minutes of calm as the boy furiously wiped at his cheek where the clown licked him, he was questioned by the other as they settled into a banter._

"… _Did Cosimov hit you?"_

"_Shut up."_

"_Do you have any friends?"_

"_SHUT UP! YOU'RE IRRITATING!"_

_Crossing his arms tighter to himself and turning away from the older man, wanting to ignore him, but found himself unable to, the boy answered rather crudely, grudge evident in his speech, "Who cares about this place, anyway… Once I'm grown up and strong, I'll get out of here, so I don't need any damn friends."_

_Remembering the way people had reacted when they saw his deformed red arm, their terrified and disgusted expressions, how they looked to be pitying him but at the same time fear approaching him for fear that whatever made his left arm the way it was would infect them. He ground his teeth is distaste. 'I don't need people like those!'_

_Gritting his teeth in anger, he was distracted from the still-stirring emotions when he noticed the weird faces the clown was making. Suddenly feeling as though his irritation level reached maximum, he gave the other a surprisingly blank stare, trying to appear unaffected by his own disturbing thoughts._

"… _The hell are you doing!"_

_Giving a fake appearance of being hurt, the clown asked him, "Was it not funny?"_

"_Sorry, but I don't like clowns and stuff like that..." He answered abruptly, in a bored tone._

"_Actually, I pretty much hate them?" Finishing off with that, he was surprised when the older man continued to talk to him, despite just having declared his fervent hatred of clowns._

"_Really? Well, I don't like an audience or kids who won't laugh either." Chuckling while rolling his eyes and pouting somewhat childishly, receiving another "Hmph." from the boy. _

'_The hell is with this guy, acting all childish like this?'_

_Inching closer to the edge of the grave, the boy addressed the clown again, "Hey… Why aren't you crying…?"_

_Emotions of sadness and confusion weighing heavily on him, he continued, "You lived every day with this dog didn't you? Are you not even sad?"_

"…_?" _

_Receiving nothing in response, he turned to face the older man, realizing that the clown was not sitting beside him anymore._

"_I'm so sad I could just die." The clown said it so casually, that it was as though he was used to saying such a thing every day. Resolved to ignore the clown, his attention snapped to the other when he heard a creaking sound, and afterwards was treated to an image of the clown hanging himself with a rope the man seemingly procured out of nowhere, onto the bare tree beside the freshly-made grave._

"_STOP THAT!" The boy shouted with so much distaste and panic and horror, that the older man immediately humored him. _

'_Something's wrong… Something's definitely wrong with this guy!' Shuddering in fear at the disturbing sight he had just witnessed, he was distracted from his thoughts as the man spoke somewhat gravely._

"_Actually, I can't cry." The clown emotionlessly explained, while removing the rope from his neck. _

'_What's with this guy...?' The boy continued giving him a questioning look, silently signaling him to proceed to explain himself._

"_Maybe my tears have all dried up… They just won't come no matter what." The older man explained, face becoming even more unreadable than it already was because of the thick face paint._

"_The hell? That's stupid." Not knowing what else to say to that, the boy diverted his attention back to the now covered grave and the rubber, neon-colored, circus ball the clown had left on it as a replacement for the gravestone and flowers._

"_This guy… What was its name?" The boy asked hesitantly._

_The clown remained silent, as though unhearing._

"_I pet him yesterday, and he licked me." 'Licked the red, wrinkled, monstrous, left hand which everyone was disgusted of… The hand which gave me the name 'Red'… I think he's ever the only one to really acknowledge me and show appreciation to my presence…'_

"_His tongue was so warm… So I thought, today I'd…" Hiccupping, Red scrunched his face as he stared at his deformed arm, trying in vain to stop the tears from flowing, "Why… That's all it was… We weren't even close, so why am I crying…?"_

_Unable to hold back any longer, Red wailed out loud. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH~!" _

"_Oh, I see…" The older man said quietly, so that only the boy could hear, "You were Allen's friend, weren't you…"_

_Tears warming his cheeks, he wailed even louder as he realized what the clown had just said._

_The boy continued to wail and mourn for Allen, for his first "friend", shedding enough tears for both himself and the clown until he could only cry dry tears. He continued to cry until he fell asleep, while the clown remained beside him, sitting quietly._

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><p><em>So many strange things had happened during the previous day. He played an act with the clown, Mana- he just found out the older man's name from a red-haired priest who suddenly appeared to tell him to stay away from the clown, their circus troupe was attacked and is now dissolved, Cosimov was dead, a lot of the performers had also disappeared, he too almost died if not for the flying golden ball who stopped the red-headed priest just in time… <em>

'_Is Mana dead?' The thought made him cold with fear as he now wondered aimlessly around town. He had escaped the night before, just after the attack on their circus troup. Finding himself back at the circus, not knowing exactly how he ended up back there, Red decided to root around for Mana, hoping against hope that he was alright, that he was still alive. Somewhere in the crowd, Red finally spotted Mana._

_Giving a triumphant exclamation, Red waved over to the clown._

"_Mana! You're alright! Mana!"_

_Head still stained with blood from yesterday's events, Mana faced Red and gave a slow smile before greeting the boy. "Where have you been, Allen?"_

"_Eh?" Staring at the other in shock, Red abruptly halted in his approach._

"… _Mana?" Approaching the older man with caution, he grasped Mana's warm hand, tugging as if to ask what had happened to him._

"_Today is Christmas! Okay, let's go to a different place Allen!" Enthusiastically pulling 'Allen' with him, joy evident in his warm hands as he held the boy's own smaller hand while resolutely ignoring the other's protests and continued on the path, "Is there anywhere Allen wants to go to?"_

"_Mana!" _

'_Strange… Could it be because I hit him with my arm yesterday?' Red contemplated with dread. The idea of having caused harm to the man who had been nothing but kind to him pained him so._

"_Hmm- Where should we go next?" Stopping in his tracks abruptly and rubbing his chin in thought, Mana paused as he voiced out his next question while tilting his head to the side._

"_Why… Why am I travelling again?"_

_At that, Red froze. An unsettling feeling gripped his heart as he realized that something had gone horribly wrong with Mana during the short time they had been apart, and knowing the possibility that he could have been the one to cause it filled him with even greater dread. _

"_You… You're looking for your little brother right? You told me so yourself just yesterday!" Red trembled in fear and regret at how much the clown's memory had regressed._

"_Little brother? What's that? I don't have a little brother…" Mana turned to face him, still smiling, but the fear and pain was evident in the older man's touch. _

"_I feel that I'm… I'm looking for something important? Something really important… But I can't remember exactly what it is I'm looking for?" Still smiling, Mana's voice was even as his grip on Red's hand tightened slightly. His body was shaking in fear. In sadness. For not remembering. For forgetting something important. For knowing he had lost something important, yet not knowing exactly what it was._

"_You're looking for your little brother! Your little brother who was separated from you! You said that you were afraid he wouldn't recognize you when you suddenly became older, so you're searching for him!" _

_No reaction._

_Staring at Mana helplessly, his attention was slightly distracted by the falling snow. And somehow, somehow he realized with a certain dread that Mana cannot revert back to his usual self anymore, if what he had witnessed before had even been the 'usual self', considering that the clown had spouted a considerable amount of unbelievable words. Warm tears began to fall from his eyes._

_That seemed to break the older man's trance. Wiping away at his tears, the other enclosed him in an embrace, as though to comfort, while saying in a hushed tone, "Don't cry, don't be sad… If you're sad, the Earl will come."_

_The Earl... Mana seemed to be deathly afraid of this 'Earl'. Could that person possibly have had something to do with his little brother's disappearance…?_

"_Allen has gotten really warm? And… Strange? You've suddenly gotten so big… And your tail is gone… Strange, really strange…"_

_Finally Red realized what had happened. 'He mixed me up with the dog…'_

_The priest's words from when he rescued Red came back to him again, "-Don't forget, this is all because of you."_

"_Mana…" Looking at the clown helplessly, he finally admitted his hopelessness. 'This man was destroyed by me.'_

_Resolving himself, the boy stared directly at Mana's golden eyes which were slightly dulled by his own thoughts and troubles. "Take me with you Mana. I'll tell you what you've forgotten. I'll… I'll remember it for you, so please… Please, take me with you." Red said solemnly. _

"_Of course, we'll always be together Allen." Humoredly declaring the words as though such things were unquestionable facts, Mana laughed innocently, lightly squeezing Red's hand as he once more began to trudge down the path leading to an unknown location. Towards the pure, white snow. Towards a fresh start. Always, the two of them, together._

'_This is now my purpose for living. Mana… When I first got to play with your dog, when I first performed together with you on the streets yesterday… It was the first time I ever felt such happiness with someone else. So now it's my turn. I'll make you happy.'_

_Squeezing the hand still clutching his own, smaller one, he silently resolved to himself._

'_I will become your Allen.'_

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><p><em><strong>*Footnotes:<strong>_

_Overture- introduction to an opera or other large musical work._

_Cadenza- initially an improvised cadence by a soloist; later becoming an elaborate and written out passage to display performance skills of an instrumentalist or performer._


	3. Chapter 2: Resonance of a Elegy

**A/N (Rin): **Happy leap year day~! Thank you dear readers for the reviews, faves, and alerts~! I'm glad to see everyone so enthusiastic about this~~~ \(^w^)/

Whew! Finally finished this~! Sorry for the delay though, but gotta keep my promise of one chappy a month, hey? ;D

Ahhh~ Gotta say, making this fic is quite tough since I don't wanna have to make you dear readers read something straight out of the manga/anime(although it is necessary in some parts…). Anyway, a good news though for those who have been waiting for it, two more chapters and you can start welcoming some light smut- yeah, we're gonna start it light before the really steamy ones~ Hime and I are both excited about that, and I hope you all are too~! Well, enough about me, here's Hime's greeting to you all~! ;3

**A/N (Con-Hime): **I don't really have anything to say yet, but thanks so much for reading and supporting this fic. Rin and I made a promise that we will update every month. I guess we were able to beat the deadline, right? YAY!

Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this awesome chapter as much as I did. And of course, don't forget to feed her plot bunnies with lots of carrots and marzipan. XDD

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><p><strong>Disclaimers &amp; Warnings: <strong>

**Rin: I don't own -Man… Be warned that this contains major spoilers, lots and lots of it~ ^_^**

**Con-Hime: ****I don't own DGM or this fic. I'm just here to write the lemony goodness, LOL. XD**

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><p><strong>The Musician<strong>

**Chapter 2: Resonance of an Elegy **

'_This is now my purpose for living. Mana… When I first got to play with your dog, when I first performed together with you on the streets yesterday… It was the first time I ever felt such happiness with someone else. So now it's my turn. I'll make you happy.'_

_Squeezing the hand still clutching his own, smaller one, he silently resolved to himself._

'_I will become your Allen.'_

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><p>Three years later…<p>

Sitting beside a mound of soil, a young boy wept quietly, unceasingly.

The scene was eerily familiar, with the huge mound of soil set beside a bare tree. Although this time, instead of a neon circus ball to serve as a marker, a real tombstone was erected on the grave, and on it, the name "Mana Walker".

"Didn't you say… We'd be… We'd be together always? Mana?" Choking on his words, the boy continued to cry onto his plams.

"What… What am I supposed to do n-now? Now that you-you're g-gone?"

Vaguely, as if in a whisper, he heard Mana's voice telling him gently- _"Don't cry Allen, misery, sadness… Any form of tragedy will attract the Earl's attention."_

He never really did understand why Mana kept on saying such things, why Mana continued to push through tough situations with that infuriating ever-present smile of his. Throughout the months they had traveled together, Mana had always been smiling, serving as a calming presence and making him forget all of his troubles and worries. All of his tragedies.

But now, now that Mana's dead, everything came back to him in a rush- assaulted him with the reality of his situation, as though a vault of everything and anything nasty and evil broke open, and began its endless torment of him.

A few moments later, the wind seems to have stilled, seems to have changed altogether into something heavy and suffocating. The feeling of discomfort was punctuated as a dark shadow descended upon his hunched figure, making him curl further into himself to hide from the unknown presence. Something- or someone- with such a heavy aura can only signal bad things, and bad things were to be avoided at all cost. At least, that was how he and Mana had lived for the past few months, carefree and full of joy. Whenever a hint of trouble appeared, they would usually start packing and leave their temporary residence. They never stayed at a place for more than a week or two. It was as though they were being hunted, doomed to living their lives as vagabonds. Trouble and tragedy seemed to never stray too far from them.

Until the past eight months and a half, that is.

Somehow, everything negative stopped altogether, and they began to finally settle down, much to Allen's surprise. They still looked for Mana's younger brother occasionally, but eventually, the older man somehow began to accept that it would not be very easy searching for his brother with a kid around, so he had decided to settle down for a year or two, at least until Allen has grown a bit bigger, and he decided to educate the young boy, serving as a real father-figure to Allen.

Everything had been going great, as though he were living in a dream where everything was perfect, until a month ago, the night when he and Mana had gone home, cutting short their usual night walk around the lake. The older man had been having a hard time breathing, and had collapsed so suddenly mid-way through their walk that Allen had been at a loss as to what to do, calling help for from the local village's physician.

Despite repeated diagnosis from the kindly doctor, they were unable to find anything amiss with Mana, and the doctor was left with no choice but to put it down to over-exhaustion. As the doctor left their humble abode, somehow he knew, he just knew that something was horribly wrong with Mana. That it wouldn't be long before he was left alone again.

Despite such ominous feelings, Allen decided to adapt Mana's optimism, continuing to have normal conversations with Mana when he was awake and complaining about the housework as he usually did. Mana himself did not change- he was still the happy-go-lucky clown Allen had first met in the circus. But their usual routine was changed with Mana being bedridden most of the time, and Allen leaving his own bedroom, in favor of sleeping beside the older man every night.

That had been a week ago.

Now, he was resolved to sleep beside Mana's grave, at least until he figured out what he would do next. He cannot remain in their house- too many memories there which would only put him in much more pain as the reality of his solitude sunk in. The only person he had ever considered as his family is now dead. He's alone again.

Despite the suffocating shadow towering over him, encompassing his small frame, Allen refused to look up to acknowledge the presence. That is, until he heard the screechy voice of an old man speak to him.

"What's got you so down, my boy? Maybe I can offer some assistance, hmm?"

Looking up, startled at the unusual voice of the one towering above him, he finally got a good view of the person addressing him.

Openly gaping at the newcomer, the man pushed on, "Well?"

'_Is he one of the villagers perhaps? I haven't seen him before… What a strange mask…_' Taking a moment to observe the man, Allen noticed his easy stance, the way he seemed to carry his weight easily and not lean on his umbrella despite his very round built, as though his whole body was just a balloon. '_And he looks like a clown… I hate clowns. But he…_'

Hesitating for a moment, Allen decided to respond to the man's kind inquiry.

"H-he's dead… Mana is-Mana is…"

Sobbing quietly once more at the declaration, Allen added, "I don't…" The rest of the words spoken in such a hushed manner that the man towering above him had to lean down to hear what he has to say, but was still unable to as evident by his next words.

"What was that? I couldn't quite catch what you said just now." The round man told him gently, albeit persistently, as though impatiently pushing for a confirmation of his words. Still, even his ever-widely grinning mask seemed to show his contriteness and sympathy for the young boy. For what exactly, Allen was unsure of.

Composing himself enough just to be able to answer the man, Allen replied pitifully, speech still broken by his continuous sobbing.

"Mana's d-dead… Ah-I don't know wh-what t… What to do an-anymo-anymore…"

Slowly, the stout figure sat down beside him, still donning the grinning mask. His eyes alight with something… Familiar which Allen could not quite yet name, being too overcome by grief to mind such things at present. Everything else seemed so trivial compared to the death of his beloved father-figure.

"I… I promised to be h-his… His Allen. But now that he's g-gone… Now that he's gone…"

Choking on his words, he decided to ignore the visitor in favor of the now unhearing ears buried under the grave, despair wracking his tiny body, Allen spoke in a hushed tone but with great desperation, wailing the last word. Wailing _his_ name.

"What will I do without you now, Mana?"

To his surprise, the visitor replied to his rhetoric.

"Well! I don't see how that is a problem at all!"

The man exclaimed, as though it was perfectly inconsequential, even shaking his head in emphasis as if lacking understanding or acknowledgement of the gravity of the situation, his tone sounding so astonished that such an event would get such a reaction from the boy- or from anyone else for that matter.

Speechless at first by the man's response- or rather the lack of propriety in his response, Allen's anger gradually built, and his upset finally manifested itself as indignation.

"What '**no problem**'? He's dead! DEAD! Mana IS dead! He's not coming back! D'you not hear what I just said?" Looking back at the yet un-introduced man, he began glaring daggers through his eyes, tears continuing to streak down his face. If looks could kill, he'd surely be beside the grave Allen was watching right now.

"OF course he's dead. But that's all right? I don't see how that could be such a problem." The man answered back, completely dismissing his outburst. Fury boiling over, Allen's rage doubled upon seeing the other's widely-grinning mask. Once, he had felt the sympathy and contriteness from it, but now… Now he only felt like it was mocking him, soaking up his misery and giving it back a hundredfold, like it was bathing in his tragedy.

'…_Tragedy…'_

"_**Don't cry, don't be sad… If you're sad, the Earl will come."**_

"Tragedies attract the attention of the Earl, inviting his presence…" Slowly whispering to himself, suddenly remembering Mana's warning.

'A warning…' The memory ringing endlessly in his head, getting louder and louder, much like how he used to play treasure hunts with Mana with only the degree of the words "hot" and "cold" as clues to how close he was to the hidden treasure.

Allen felt himself grow cold with fear, sobering him up and forcing him to immediately hide his grief. He didn't know why he knew that this was the man they had been running from. He just _did_.

'Maybe I'm not too late… Maybe _he_ hasn't sensed me yet…' But looking up at the visitor who was once again standing and leaning over him, he realized that he was already too late, that the one person they had been running from has finally caught up, that he had failed Mana yet again.

Tilting his head to the side as he sensed the change in Allen's demeanor, the man spoke up once again, his voice more kind this time, more coaxing, "My name is Adam by the way…?"

"Allen. Just Allen."

Speaking in a clipped manner, Allen began to think of an escape route, hoping against hope that he could outrun this old terror.

He was not exactly sure why Mana had been so afraid of the 'Earl', and he dared not ask for fear of what it would do to the man's already delicate mental condition. He had thought of asking about the infamous 'Earl' with the reasoning of "if I know, then maybe I can do something about it" but he knew that that was just an excuse to sate his own curiosity, besides, he wasn't even sure himself if, once he found out, he could really do something about it. Despite his curiosity gnawing at him daily, especially whenever Mana was in his low, Mana's own well-being mattered to him more than satisfying his own curiosities, and so, he just left the topic untouched.

Seeing the man as he was now, Allen really was unable to pinpoint the cause of Mana's excessive fear. Maybe it was brought about by his childish innocence, but he couldn't for his life just see this man as anything other than plain weird. Forget dangerous, this guy was just an oddity. But as quickly as this conclusion was reached, it was just as quickly snuffed out a few moments after he made the deal.

It had all happened so fast. Adam-no, the Earl had given him a very tempting offer. He had said, matter-of-factly, "Well, Allen my boy, I really don't see why you're so upset, when you could just call out his name and it would immediately bring him back."

At hearing that, Allen was rendered so speechless with shock, his anger being reawakened by the other's blasphemy, anger so intense that it was comparable to his red hair- yes, the irony of having been called _Red_ not because of his hair, but because of his disfigured arm, people do tend to look at the uglier things in life. Yet, despite his righteous indignation, the seemingly carelessly uttered statement lit a tiny spark of hope for the possibility of such a thing. The "ifs" started to take hold, its roots extending, the idea spreading like poison, subtle, yet reaching into the deepest depths of his consciousness, effectively corrupting its intended target.

Yes, in truth, his anger was not brought forth only by the other's blasphemy and disrespect, but it was also directed at himself for ever hoping, for entertaining such an idea even for just a little bit, to undo something irrevocable and go against the law of nature.

Yet, as much as he feared going against the normal flow of things, he knew that he would give almost anything just to get his life's normalcy back. To get Mana back.

Voice trembling and speech broken, Allen felt as though he was treading on thin ice, but he just had to confirm it, "So… I-I just have t-to call his na-name?"

"Yes, that's right my boy. Just call his name, shout it out as loud as you can. Let him hear how much you want him to go back to you, and I'll do the rest. After all, if it really did not work, you won't really lose anything, right?" Smiling even wider than his mask already had been since the start of their conversation, 'Adam' began setting up a metallic rack holding a skeletal structure which he seemingly pulled up out of empty air.

"What… What's that?" Eyeing the metallic structure curiously, Adam graciously moved aside for Allen to cautiously touch the lightly vibrating racks. He could feel the power running through the thing quietly and consistently like an electric current.

"This huge chunk of metal, my boy, is the device which will help bring back your uncle. Touch it, you can just feel the life running through it. See?" Smiling at the boy encouragingly, Adam gently ruffled Allen's hair as he looked up the structure in awe.

"Such a flimsy, cold object… How is it able to do such a thing?" Caressing the metal skeleton gently, fingers trailing the surface, his voice doubtful of its effectivity.

"Ahahaha! My boy, my boy! It is only an instrument to HELP bring Mana back, YOU will be the one doing that. Just shout his name out, call to him, and he will be sure to come. He will be with you again. He will be alive and you will not have to be alone anymore. So go on, my boy, call out his name." Adam smiled coaxingly as he squeezed Allen's shoulders gently in encouragement.

"Go on. Just a name and he'll be back. Go on, my boy. You don't have to be alone anymore, just call out his name." Adam continued to smile encouragingly at Allen, gently pushing him to make the move.

Belatedly, Allen realized he had begun to trust the older man, even going so far as to acknowledge the given name, 'Adam'. Taking a deep breath to confirm his decisiveness, Allen looked up determinedly at Adam and slowly began to stand on his feet, not losing eye contact with the other. "Just his name, right?"

"Yes, my boy. Just his name..." Smile widening even further, Adam stepped back slightly to give Allen some space as he prepared himself.

* * *

><p>Inhaling deeply, Allen opened his mouth wide and gave a loud shout, "MANA! MANA WALKER!"<p>

The thunder struck loudly and violently, lightning flashing intensely bright, illuminating the whole area of the makeshift grave. Illuminating Adam's eyes.

Bringing to light the raging glint of insanity in his pupils, reflecting the blood-red shade of Allen's hair- a foresight into the near future. Into the _very_ near future.

Had the boy only seen it, he would have begun to back away and escape as fast as he could, however, his eyes were only trained onto 'Mana'- _'Not that he could escape, of course…'_.

His eyes which were full of hope and uncertainty, of love for the only person whom he considered his family. _'I loathe those eyes. Those eyes whose emotions remind me so much of you, my dear traitor, my 14__th__ Noah… I WILL destroy anyone and EVERYONE who had associated with you, whom you cared for. So that when you return again, you will experience for yourself how it feels like to lose everything you cared about and everyone you loved. This is for our family- the 11 Noahs whom you callously murdered. And once you're back, I will look into your eyes and greatly savor the look of hurt and heartbreak as you realize that no one is able to escape the fate of a Noah- that aside from the family, you will be alone, and will spend eternity being so.' _

Another lightning struck, hitting the metal skeleton, making it vibrate and convulse wildly while still firmly attached to its rack. Its head tossed back, jaws rattling like it was laughing at the whole world, laughing at Allen for its rebirth, laughing not in mirth but out of pure, unadulterated anger and hatred.

"HAH! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WELCOME! WELCOME MANA! WELCOME BACK!" Gleefully dancing on his toes, Adam greeted the metal skeleton, rejoicing loudly as its movement became more and more violent.

"M-Mana…?" Softly, Allen called out. Looking towards Adam for instruction, he gave the boy a nod to move forward, watching as he cautiously inched his way towards Mana, excitement evidently held at bay by his uncertainty of the menacing, yet-skeletal figure.

"Go on, Allen, reach out to him. Only **then** will his human form be complete." Placing an emphasis on the word 'then', he gave Allen a restrained push towards, his screechy voice turning deep and abysmal.

Watching as the skeleton forcibly detached itself from its holding rack, he ominously whispered to no one, smirking in triumph, "Welcome, MY Mana, my dear child, my Akuma."

As a strong gust of wind blew past, he disappeared along with it- disinterested in the carnage that would soon occur.

* * *

><p>A terrified screech tore the air, voice even louder than the arriving storm.<p>

"NO! STOP MANA! PLEASE, STOP!" Allen pleaded, shielding himself from the tearing claws of the metal skeleton currently lunging at him and throwing a barrage of slices and cuts.

"MANA! IT'S ME, MANA! IT'S ALLEN! ALLEN!" Arms wounded with deep cuts, the skeleton roared aloud, not halting in its attempt to do whatever it wanted to do to him, he wasn't sure himself what it was.

At first, the _thing_ seemed to want to go in his mouth- as if that was even possible!- but who knows now? He had also thought before that it was impossible to make an inanimate object _alive_. And he was sure that it was alive. He _felt_ it. But then suddenly, the metal structure began tearing at him wildly, as if fighting some inbuilt instinct and taking its frustration out on Allen.

"Wh-why? How c-could you do this Allen!" The skeleton, 'Mana' cried. Voice still the eerily the same as when he was alive, but a foreign tone of anger and desperation tingeing it.

Looking towards Adam for help, Allen realized that the man was long gone, leaving in his trail only the demonic piece of metal wanting to shred Allen into bits.

"H-how could you m-make me in-into a… Into an Aku… Into an Akuma!" Roaring aloud, sounding very much in pain, he attacked Allen continuously, finding an opening. Taking the opportunity, he gouged out Allen's eye and began to curse him.

Ignoring the pained screaming of the boy, he continued to rage, licking the blood on his skeletal fingers, shivering with delight, and saying in an ominous voice, "From here on forth, I curse you Allen- curse you with the ability to see the Akuma for who they really are! For you to see into them! To see our soul and to witness our suffering!"

Another lightning struck, illuminating the bloodbath. Allen was bleeding profusely, hand covering his eye which Mana had just clawed, trembling in fear and heartbreak. His wounds hurt, but his heart all the more so.

Suddenly, his left hand began to throb painfully, hurting even more than the searing pain he felt from the wound on his eye where Mana had cut him. Immobile with pain, the skeleton approached him, seemingly to deal the death blow, when a blinding light burst forth from his left palm.

* * *

><p>Upon sighting the explosion of light in the near distance, he immediately increased his pace as he approached the hilltop. Frustrated at the raindrops pelting down on him, decreasing the visibility of the path considerably, he wondered if it was natural or something… No, <em>someone<em> was making it so.

A few moments later, he eyed the bloody scene before him and growled in anger at himself, "Dammit! I was too late!", but immediately hushing as the being lying prone on the white-haired boy's lap addressed him.

"I'm sorry for dropping this on you, my friend. I leave Allen Walker in your hands. Please, take good care of my beloved boy. Be his friend and his ally, as you had been, and are, for Neah."

* * *

><p>One moment, Allen was slumped on the ground with a defeated look on his face, the next, he was staring at his 'disfigured arm' in astonishment as it grew in size, forming sharp claws and moving on its own. Shortly afterwards however, his astonishment turned to horror as he realized that he had just sliced Mana into half- that he had killed Mana.<p>

"Ah. Ahhh… Hah… No… No… No! NO! NOOOOOO! MANA! NO… NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! MANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Screaming in great anguish, Allen dropped to the ground in a boneless heap, eyes wide with tears, his own injuries and bodily hurt forgotten, he tore towards Mana, tripping down a few inches away, unable to get back up.

"Urgh… Mana… No… Ah… Hah… No… I-I'm sor- I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I-ah, I won't… Won't do it again! P-please! I beg y-you! Stay with mh- Stay with me! Mana! Please st-stay w-with me! D-don't leave me alone any-anymore Mana! I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry! Mana! Mana…" Crying his heart out, Allen clawed the ground with his transformed left hand, slowly closing in on Mana. As gradual as his approach, from scarlet red, Allen's hair slowly turned snow-white. The only part of his hair remaining red was the area stained with his own blood.

Tears trickling down from the skeleton's eyes, Mana reached out, gently touching Allen's face, "It's alright, my boy. Everything will be alright."

Looking towards the approaching shadow, the once-Akuma called out in a louder voice, "I'm sorry for dropping this on you, my friend. I leave Allen Walker in your hands. Please, take good care of my beloved boy. Be his friend and his ally, as you had been, and are, for Neah."

Once again directing his attention towards Allen, who had by now reached his side and was desperately hugging him close, he hugged the boy back as fiercely as he could before meeting him eye-to-eye. Struggling through his last breath, he held Allen's gaze firmly, declaring the last phrase he would be able to utter before slipping back into sweet death, he addressed the boy firmly, lovingly, "Thank you for freeing me. I love you."

And the metal skeleton lay limp, before breaking down into sparkling dust and dissolving into the cold air of the rainy night, leaving Allen once more, feeling alone.

* * *

><p><em><strong>*<strong>__**Footnotes:**_

_Resonance- when several strings are tuned to harmonically related pitches, all strings vibrate when only one of the strings is struck._

_Elegy- an instrumental lament with praise for the dead._


	4. Chapter 3: From a Coda to a Clef

**A/N (Rin): **I made some minor changes to chapter 1 with regards to the timeline, to make things more accurate for the plot. So! This is my uber delayed Chapter 3~~~ *sobs* T_T

Hope you all enjoy this~! The intros are mostly over, so next chapter, I can finally start playing around with the plot. As I've promised, I'll be publishing Chapter 4 in this month as well, estimate it to be either late next week or the final week of April. Oh, and before I forget, do give Con-Hime your support for the chapter next month (Ch5), she'll be dishing out a light smut for you all~ ^_^

**A/N (Con-Hime): **What? Smut on Chapter 5? Gah! I'll do my best! And hurray for updating, twin! Life has been busy for us these days so we apologize for the late update. Nonetheless, I hope you will also enjoy this installment as much as I do. ^^

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><p><strong>Disclaimers &amp; Warnings: <strong>

**Rin: I don't own DGray-Man… Be warned that this contains major spoilers, lots and lots of it~ ^_^**

**Con-Hime: I don't own DGM nor this fic. I'm just here to write the dirty parts, LOL.**

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><p><strong>The Musician<strong>

**Chapter 3: From a Coda to a Clef **

The sound of water dripping on the stone pavement echoed throughout the infinite emptiness surrounding the dismal ruins. Like a miniature Venice, deep, still, dark water bordered the fallen grey structure, the evidence of its most glorious past forever buried under, swallowed by the unforgiving element. Concrete boulders ridden with cracks with only a handful few still standing at full height- the others having already crumbled down, its fragments littering the area.

Eyes lifeless but not quite vacant, Allen stared off into blank space. He was all alone here, with no other living being to keep him company, and somehow he preferred it to be that way. No need for interactions, no need for new bonds to be formed only to have it broken later on, no need for anyone to care for, no need for him to cause anyone else pain. The only person who had even cared for him was already gone anyway, the only person who made him feel that he was needed, that he was wanted.

Yes, there was no need for 'Red', no need for 'the little monster', no need for himself… No need for the existence of 'Allen'.

Maybe he shouldn't have existed in the first place, only ever causing grief and harm to those around him, being a disappointment to Mana… He deserved it, getting cursed by his beloved father, being hated… He made so grave a mistake, he would surely never be forgiven, if that were to happen though, he would still never forgive himself.

Sure, he had thought of just putting an end to it all, to end his now meaningless life, the life which only brought misery and pain to others, but something held him back… A voice tugging in his memory, in the utmost back of his mind, whatever it was he could not recall it clearly, but it was enough to keep a slight vestige of hope alive- for what, he also did not know… Or maybe he really is just too weak and afraid to end his sad excuse of an existence.

Yes, this was the best place for him, his own 'haven' where he can be alone for all eternity.

* * *

><p>Carefully setting the profusely bleeding, unresponsive boy down on the wooden chair, the man moved quickly around the average-sized room, his large, golden golem flitting around frantically, as he rooted around the cupboard for a towel and dry clothes.<p>

"Dammit, he's too cold!"

Cussing heartily, the man proceeded to shout out the corridor asking if the bath has already been prepared. Getting an affirmative, he stripped the boy of his wet, bloodied clothes and wrapped him up in a blanket before picking him up and carrying him to the bath, hugging the boy tight to transfer his own body heat while continuing to grumble expletives at the situation, uncaring despite getting the boy's blood on his person.

Finally reaching the tub, he unceremoniously dumped the kid in the water, watching the clear liquid turn various shades of scarlet and belatedly remembering to check if the water was too hot when his golden golem bit his head and went to fly more frantically, wings flapping vigorously around the boy as though fanning him. Once the idea passed his mind though, he stared at the white-haired boy for a few seconds, and began to notice the child's quickly reddening skin and the increase of tears which continued to stream from his still-open eyes, down to his now painfully-red cheeks. Cursing his stupidity and carelessness when he felt the water's scalding temperature, he opted for dumping only a bucket-full of cold water, figuring that it wouldn't hurt too much considering that the boy had been practically freezing, soaked to the bone as he had been for quite a substantial amount of time, plus, it would be an ideal disinfectant.

Scrubbing the child clean as thoroughly and as quickly as he could, he couldn't help but notice how scrawny the other was. Taking care to gently run the scrub over the large, jagged, gaping wounds, cleaning off any impurities on the wound and blood stains stubbornly stuck on the boy's skin, he noticed the child's face starting to swell slightly and began to double his pace.

Deeming to have gotten the other as clean as he possibly could, given the situation, he quickly raised the child from the tub, cradling the smaller body on his lap, and throwing a clean bucketful of water over the boy's head for a final rinsing. Wiping him down as carefully as he could without irritating the huge cuts littering the other's body, he carried the boy back to the bedroom and began tending to and dressing the child's wounds, being extra careful with the deep cuts on the now-more-swollen face. Completing everything quickly but not as quietly, he clothed the boy and firmly tucked him in the bed, ordering his golem to stay with the boy and alert him of any changes, as he left for the bath to clean his own self up and take the time to gather his bearings.

* * *

><p>Sitting on the rocking chair, knitting by the fireplace while occasionally sipping a spoonful of soup from the wooden bowl on the side table, the old lady looked up from what she was doing when she heard slight scuffling from the hall.<p>

Coming eye-to-eye with a dripping wet, tall, red-head, any other woman would have blushed profusely at such a sight. To someone like her who was familiar with the individual however, the view was only met with a slight frown and a raised eyebrow before an amused snort.

"General, I know that you're a very independent and elusive man… That being said, your show of independence by making a statement in such a way that your clothes are currently in the elusive state, is highly unneeded. And no- that flimsy, white, and very wet towel is not enough to give you a status of being 'decent'." Smirking slightly at the general's steadily widening eye, the old lady continued on with her reprimand.

"I'm sure that whatever you're going to say is very important, and is most likely regarding _that_ matter. However, I'm also sure that taking some time to first put on real clothes will not affect the situation's apparent urgency. So either you go back to that room, dig through the cupboard, and wear some clothes- or you can forget about me talking to you until you're fully decent, _tomorrow morning, General Cross Marian_."

No sooner that when she had finished her statement did the General abruptly vanish from where he was currently standing, only to be followed by sounds of wood rattling and drawers and cabinet doors slamming. Shortly after the ruckus, General Cross Marian emerged from the same room as where Allen had been laid, dressed in a white, button-up shirt, and a pair of black pants. Walking barefooted, he descended the steps once again and made his way back to the living room, where the old lady was, still knitting and taking an occasional spoonful of the thick soup. At his return, the old lady looked up, appraising his new state, and giving a small nod of approval and nudged her head to point him to a bowl at the center of the table, which had apparently been prepared for him.

"Geez, old lady! You're still as antiliberal as always— that's gonna make you grow older easily." Grinning in affection, he took a chair and positioned it beside the old lady, sat down heavily, giving an exhausted groan, and began to dig in his soup.

After a few minutes of peaceful slurping and chewing, Cross decided to break the silence once more, clearing his throat to signal the start of his speech and staring intently at the old lady, demeanor changing from carefree to all seriousness.

"The boy… He was the child Mana had adopted a few years back, the same one from the circus… Anyway, thank you for the help, mother… I-" Abruptly stopping whatever he was going to say as the 'mother' lifted a hand up in front of his face, the general stared confusedly at the sudden interruption.

"Let me remind you, _father_, that I am merely your patron, and not a collaborator of the 14th. You and the boy are welcome to stay here as long as you need to, but keep in mind that he is your responsibility… And am I correct to assume that he is the host you've been looking for?"

Receiving an affirmative nod, she sighed in an undecipherable emotion, "…to think that he was with Mana the whole time… I guess that's only to be expected, seeing as he himself instructed you to keep a close watch over his brother."

"But that's the thing I don't get!" Throwing his hands to the side in apparent frustration, Cross, aggravatedly stood up and began pacing around the small area. "Of all the people, why him? Why that… that boy! He could have picked anyone, and yet… He picked that 10-year-old boy! He could've just picked someone else! Why him? Why that boy! He's much too young to take on the 14th's responsibility! Much too young, much too inexperienced! And-"

"And you'd much prefer that his host is some nobody, or a trash of society? Wake up, general. He's the one who appeared before Mana, he's the one who 'saved' Mana from his downward spiral into insanity. He's the 'Allen' who gave Mana a chance to be happy again, even if for just a short while. And despite the boy having turned him into an akuma, we all know that he was happy, no, that he had found happiness in the form of that child, in the form of _Allen_. Anyone who has had any association with the 14th know that such a thing is almost impossible— that the Earl will not permit it- and yet, there he was, living happily and undisturbed with the boy! Such a thing inspires hope don't you think? A hope for a better, happier future, free from tragedy, free from the Earl's manipulations… The child barely knows anything of these matters, but he has already freed at least one soul from the Earl's grasp, so…"

"So it would be better for the 14th to return through him?" Scoffing at the idea, the general slowly shook his head at the mother's train of thought. "He's a child, for goodness' sake! Besides, I don't know how to take care of one! Let alone make him understand his role in all this… I really didn't expect it to be some barely-adolescent kid… Before Nea left, he told me to- what the? Timcampy!"

Suddenly getting hit on the head by his frantic golem, which was shortly followed by a loud scream, both were forced to put their current discussion at a halt and to go running to the room where Cross had just left the boy, tightly tucked in bed to sleep. Only when they got to the room, Allen had been far from 'tucked in'. Trashing violently on the bed, his tiny body evidently wracked in pain as he scratched and pulled at his now blood-soaked bandages, eyes opened wide, his irises like pin-pricks, Allen kept on screaming, the sound blood-curdling, and volume loud enough that one would think it was enough to throw his throat and lungs out of his tiny body.

Quickly, Cross lunged at the boy, holding his arms down on the bed mattress with a single hand, while using his other arm to secure the boy's wildly kicking legs. Body arching up in response to the strain on his limbs, the boy continued to fight desperately against the weight holding him down.

The struggle went on for almost an hour, with the boy's voice slowly becoming hoarse from the continuous pained screaming, and his tensed body steadily losing its resistance to being restrained. Slowly, the screams turned to subdued sobbing and moaning, tears now all dried up, Cross watched as the boy quietly cried out for Mana, his visible eye red from crying, open and unblinking. The left half of his face, the part where he was scratched by the akuma, was all swollen and bleeding once again, with his eye barely visible beneath the lump of severely irritated wound.

Had Cross reached later than when he did, Allen would have already clawed his eye out in delirious agony. As it was now, the boy had finally calmed down enough for him to let go and survey the new damage dealt. Receiving a large pail of warm water from his patron, and a clean, soft cloth from Timcampy, the general positioned the boy on a wooden stool and proceeded to clean the boy's wounds once again as the old lady and his golem changed the soiled bed sheet. Having lost all strength in the struggle, Allen fainted as the antiseptic was re-applied to his wounds, the new, stinging pain apparently already too much for him to handle in his already delicate state. Finally completing his task, Cross exhaled in an exhausted huff, sitting on the floor just beside the occupied bed. He hoped that was the last of it.

How wrong he was.

The nightly screaming, clawing, and reopening of wounds continued for a little more than a week, leaving the General and his golem exhausted from holding him down and redressing his wounds with more frequency than usual for an injured person. How ironic that as a exorcist, he was slowly becoming like a vampire, being fully awake and active at night, busy fighting off Allen's struggle to claw out anything he could get his hands on just to alleviate his pain, before losing consciousness once again. That is, until now.

Despite the nightly struggles, Cross still preferred the fiasco to _**this**_.

After 9 days, or rather, nights of constant struggle and pain, instead of falling unconscious like he usually did, Allen simply became silent. Eyes open, unseeing and unblinking, form sitting still, rigid, quiet, with not even the slightest of whimpers— Allen had slipped into a state of catatonia.

* * *

><p>"Ah… You might want to take it easy on those poor linen sheets, general, not that they would tear… But the basin seems to be giving way already…"<p>

Wiping the sweat from his brow, the exorcist stomped on the bed sheets soaked under water and soap in the huge, wooden washing basin. With the sun mercilessly beating down on his back, he ground out his irritation at the cigarette haphazardly positioned at the side of his mouth as he vigorously did the laundry. He was honestly beginning to hate afternoons the most, but it was the best time to hang out the laundry to dry so he could collect them before dinner time.

It was already nearing two and a half months since Allen first became catatonic. At first, Cross was unsure of how to care for the unresponsive child, and Timcampy was no better, thankfully his patron guided him for the first few days, but afterwards left everything to him, with the usual reasoning of "I am merely your patron, and not a collaborator of the 14th", and only helping out occasionally when he was really short of hands. She was not unkind however, and slowly came to care for Allen like he was her own son— her son who was now very much a full-grown man, helped out the general with the chores whenever he could to lighten the burden of a bachelor suddenly tasked with caring for a child, a task which the general evidently knew nothing of, based on some incidents which he would rather not recall.

Taking his time to lift the soaked sheets out of the basin, he dumped them inside Timcampy's widely opened mouth and waited for the golem to wring out the water from them before the two proceeded to hang the sheets on the clothesline to dry.

One might think that he would have an easier time taking care of Allen now that the boy was unresisting and immobile, but that couldn't be more far off an assumption. His non-resistance and immobility were much too excessive that the boy was like a broken marionette, and it poisoned him more than his violent struggling in the past did. At night, Cross had to lay him down on his back and close his eyes to at least give him a semblance of being asleep, the general didn't know if the boy really ever did sleep anymore.

It wasn't that bad during the first month, Allen had still been conscious and _alive_, sleeping properly, waking up in the morning only to huddle at the corner of the bed, hugging his knees tightly to himself and crying until he fell asleep again, and most of all, the still ate, albeit a meager amount, but he still consumed at least something. But now…

Into the second month of him being in a state of catatonia, Allen stopped functioning altogether. For the first week, he boy had stopped eating altogether. The following week after that, the exorcist was unable to lay him down to sleep with how rigidly he held onto himself. It was worrisome how thin and emaciated the boy was rapidly becoming. Came the third week, Allen had barely any energy left to hold himself upright in a sitting position, and most often ended up either slumped in an awkward position or laid down by Cross. He was already like a corpse, just waiting for death to come and collect him and make his non-existence in the plane of the living official.

Worried out of his mind and greatly troubled for the boy's current situation, general Cross tried everything just to get the child back and moving. At first, he was mainly concerned with getting the boy functional again, at least alive enough to keep his body useful as the 14th's host when the time came, but when it became evident that the wounds ran deeper than he could ever fix, he then began to really pay attention to the boy not as the 14th's host, but as 'Allen' himself.

He had never really talked properly to the boy— aside from the usual small talks he made, promising of wicked vengeance on the boy when cleaning and dressing the kid up or feeding him… Well, except that one time he warned him not to get any closer to Mana, which the boy evidently did not heed… Yeah, all of the conversation with Allen, if you could call it that, were consisted of threats and warnings. No wonder the boy kept to his own world. Sigh. But back to present, he thought that maybe if he tried to talk to the boy properly, stop threatening the child with payback for making him do all the 'womanly work', aka cleaning, feeding, etc..., and acknowledge him as 'Allen' then he might get a response or any sign to show that the other was still in there and had a chance to recover. That was a big maybe though, considering everything else he'd attempted— from acupuncture to some weird mojo he'd been wanting to test out, just to get the boy back, he was getting more and more desperate with each passing day, seeing as how pale and thin Allen was turning, it wouldn't be doubtful for the boy to just pass away in his 'sleep' soon one of these days. Hopefully not any time soon though, hopefully not at all if this latest experiment would prove to be effective. And so, he began talking to the boy, the person named 'Allen'.

The first day, no visible sign of awareness or development was present. He had expected it— nothing could be that effective, not even with the use of an Innocence. Nevertheless, he was still disappointed with the lack of results, but decided to push on. The following days afterwards yielded the same result, or lack thereof. At the second day of the third month in being catatonic however, some changes began to take place.

It was unnoticeable at first, but once he saw the slight spark of comprehension lightening the once-completely dull eyes of the boy, his vigor was renewed, and he began talking to Allen with more frequency about anything and everything he could think of which might be interesting to a child. The next few days showed further improvement on the boy's condition, and a week after, Allen had taken to huddling in the corner of the bed again. He was still mostly not responding to conversational attempts made by Cross, but that was nothing new, now if only he would eat again, everything would be much better, and he'd hopefully be on the road to recovery.

Into the 12th night of the third month, Cross decided to broach a topic he had been avoiding for fear of Allen sinking further into himself. He had to risk it though, the hope of Allen's recovery was becoming more and more bleak every minute that passed with the boy not receiving the nutrition that his body needed. Setting the lightly snoring Timcampy on his lap, the exorcist stared at the boy hesitantly, noting how Allen continued to sit, unmoving, without blinking his eyes, how the boy was still pretty much in his own world.

"Did you love Mana that much?"

Receiving no response, as was usually the case, Cross remained quiet for a moment before sighing quietly to himself and speaking again, while eyeing the ceiling as though he found something interesting there.

"Try your best, Allen."

With the continued silence that met him, the general decided to dig further into the subject, in hopes of jogging the kid's memory a bit and possibly earn a more positive response from the boy.

"Do you remember… His favorite saying?"

Still receiving no response, he decided to continue.

"Don't stand still…"

* * *

><p>'Who <em>is<em> that?'

Staying in his haven, it had been peaceful for the most part, boring and lifeless even, but he preferred it that way, rather than feeling the full brunt of the now dull ache in his chest.

He didn't know how long he had been there, it was a place not governed by time. He could do whatever he wanted, and yet not feel in the least bit tired, not that there was anything much to do, really, considering that all the place consisted of were blocks of concrete and endless water. Even the most creative and ingenious person would be at a loss for what to do in such a barren, cold place. Yet he preferred it that way, he didn't stay there to have fun after all, he was just waiting for… Something… Or maybe just to waste his life away, without the potential of any form of interference. He didn't remember anymore. He felt like he'd been in that place for eternity that all of his other cares were already forgotten.

But there was that _voice_ he kept on hearing, the _voice_ who just wouldn't shut up and continued to say threatening stuff to _him_, to that '_Allen_'. But, he was no longer 'Allen', he had no more reason to be 'Allen'. He was nothing now. But in all honesty, he found it quite amusing, even made it his favorite pastime waiting for that _voice_ to randomly echo around the stonewalls, despite the unpleasant promises it brought with it upon _his_ return. Not that he would.

"You peed on the bed again? I swear, if you don't ever wake up, Allen, I'm going to come and get your soul out myself, exorcise it to hell and back, and make you pay for all my tabs!"

'Heh, that Allen guy has it real bad… If it were me, I'd much rather die than return, with all the threatening stuff that voice has been blurting…' By continuously denying the existence of 'Allen', he somehow separated himself from the said identity, and made it up to be a completely different person, having its own existence, yet one that he knew of. Snorting to himself, he knew that despite all the things the voice was saying, its owner evidently cared for the person being addressed.

Despite his amusement and fascination at the voice however, there were times when he simply wanted to sink under the dark depths of the water and end his meaningless existence, and during those times, another voice would call out to him, a gentler, kinder voice. One that made him feel all warm, feel safe and assured.

'Much like how it felt like around Mana…' Feeling a sharp twinge in his chest, he shook his head to forgo the memory it brought, and went back to thoughts of oblivion.

The _gentle_ voice, as he had recently named it, as opposed to the _ruffian_. It never stayed too long, and occurred with less frequency than the _ruffian_ who was always pestering and threatening 'Allen' to wake up, but it was always there during the critical times when he just wanted to give up and stop trying to remember what it was he had been hiding from.

"It's alright my boy, just take your time and rest. When the time comes however, you must get up, okay?"

He could practically hear the _gentle_ voice smiling kindly, tenderly at him, as though in a gentle, comforting caress by someone who cared. Whenever he heard that voice, he would be left weeping silently for hours and hours until his thoughts get disrupted by the _ruffian_'s voice once again.

Some more time passed, and everything remained the same, until the time when he realized that his haven was slowly losing its light. The _ruffian_'s voice had vanished as well, leaving him undisturbed and free to slowly continue to waste away, until that particular _day_ when everything became fully enveloped in darkness.

It only lasted for a moment though, before blinding light drowned out the abyss, and he heard the two voices once more, although the _gentle_ voice seemed to be closer to him, considering the clarity of the sound.

"It's time, Allen. You have to get up now, my boy."

He could hear a new tone in the sound. It still remained soft and caring, but the smiling tone was replaced with one of urgency. He did not yet want to respond to _that name_, but he found himself unable to resist the call fully. Biting his lip in uncertainty, he stood up and looked around, waiting for where the voice will lead him to.

"Oh, and before I forget… Happy birthday, my dear Allen!" There. The smile was back again.

From somewhere far, he could hear a muffled echo of the _ruffian_ talking to 'Allen', talking to him again, the words slowly gaining clarity as time passed, to overlap with the _gentle_ voice he had always treasured.

"Don't stand still… Keep walking."

* * *

><p>"Keep walking."<p>

As Cross said out the last line, he was surprised by what happened immediately after. He had almost given up hope of the child ever recovering when he saw the eyes become fully dull once more, when suddenly, renewed tears trickled down the boy's pale cheeks, but what earned his attention most was the sob that followed after, and the quiet murmurs of "I'm sorry, Mana."

Everything else passed by in a blur. His patron and her son rejoiced at the return of Allen's consciousness. He did too, and he knew he should be happy that Allen was back, however, he couldn't help but worry when the boy acted with the politeness and proper speech as was typical of Mana, contrary to his usual cheeky and rebellious attitude and foul-mouthed nature. Well, given the damage the boy had received, he would just have to be content with what was recovered, he guessed.

They spent three more months in his patron's house, allowing Allen to fully recuperate, before he declared that they had to be getting on their way, because he had "already wasted too much time nursing a snotty brat back to health", to which Allen only replied with a bow of his head, and a mumble of apology.

On the day of their departure, as they were saying their farewells, Allen was shocked into stupor as the old lady bade him with a "Goodbye, Allen Walker."

Realizing the sudden change in the mood of the child, she voiced out her question at the look of apprehension written all over his face.

"W-well, because… 'Walker' is Mana's name, and… I'm not even… family… So, it'd be presumptuous of me to… Well… For someone like me… T-to take his…"

"Walker… It's fine, isn't it? 'Allen Walker'… It's perfect for you." Interrupting the blushing child's stuttering, Cross considered the name aloud before continuing to walk down the rough road.

"Allen… Walker, huh…?"

Face now fully red, Allen smiled warmly, happily, a look of peace written all over his face as he ran forward. Finally catching up to the general, he turned back and waved his arms widely and vigorously in farewell and thanks to the grandmother and her son.

"Allen Walker… I like it. Yes, I like it very much."

* * *

><p><em><strong>*Footnotes:<strong>_

_Coda- the closing section of a movement._

_Clef-__ in a sheet music, it is a symbol placed at the beginning of the staff defining the pitch of the notes found in that particular staff._


	5. Chapter 4: Accelerando

**A/N (Rin): **Wooh~~~ made it on time~! LOL. Oh my goodness… At the part where Komui's trying to contain his laughter, I find myself trying to mimic his coughing sound just so I could type it accurately… But I think I still failed… =.=|||

That aside, hello people~! Thanks for the alerts, faves, and reviews~! I hope you're all still reading this though, especially since this chapter will be the last intro chapter until I proceed with the more solid story development(this is shorter than the rest though… but definitely still longer than the prologue~ and there are some things that you readers might find interesting to chew on for a bit~ ;P). I've been thinking of changing the listed pairing, but ultimately decided to keep it AdamxNeah(more challenging that way, since I have to shift the viewpoint somehow… and Allen is still the major player at this point so… Guess I'll have to start developing Nea's character more soon… Yep, very soon…). Maa~, enough talk from me, I hope you people enjoy this~ read on~! ;D

P.S. Don't forget to support Hime next chapter, she'll be giving you guys a light smut, and it'll be an opening of more to come in the future~ *grins widely… like the Earl* (while editing this here in ff, i just realized that some words get deleted... like the long "HAHAHA" and non-spaced words... T_T)

**A/N (Con-Hime):** What? I'll be writing light smut in the next chapter? GAH! I feel nervous already. *starts sweating* Anyways, thanks for supporting this fic and keeping up with my twin's updates. Hope you will enjoy this chapter as much as I did. Read on, folks!

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimers &amp; Warnings: <strong>

**Rin: I don't own DGM… Be warned that this story contains major spoilers, lots and lots of it~ Also, possible OOC-ness~ ^_^**

**Con-Hime:**** Don't own DGM nor this fic. I'm just here to squeeze lemons. XD**

* * *

><p><strong>The Musician<strong>

**Chapter 4: Accelerando **

Taking another deep breath, he relished exhaling all the air out of his lungs, as though in doing so, he is also letting go of all of his feelings of exhaustion. Sitting back up in a groan, Allen began to gather his bearings and only just realized that he was, pleasantly and thankfully, just a few meters away from the entrance of the Black Order— which appeared to be a huge gate.

…No, 'huge' was a complete understatement.

It looked humongous, gargantuan even, slightly intimidating with its size and the dreary background, and it looked really heavy…

With the weather going like that, it appeared as though mother nature was in some kind of a conspiracy against him, to prevent his entrance to the Order… Oh, and did he already mention that the gate really, really, REALLY looked heavy? Yes? Okay, nevermind. He just wanted to further add emphasis on its weight, since it really DOES appear impenetrable with its imposing image. Can't help but make one wonder how in the world anyone could go out from that stronghold, let alone go in.

* * *

><p>A sense of trepidation blooming as he continued his approach toward the entrance, everything seemed to move as though played in fast forward motion. One minute, the gate was suddenly talking and doing some kind of laser-inspection of him, then suddenly a loud siren went out from the gate's literal face, he was fighting for his life, and "OUCH! That hurts!"<p>

He had earlier on sensed a killing intent from the beautiful boy— an 'exorcist' summoned by the gate after his laser-inspection, he tried to give a friendly greeting, before he was rudely cut off. Well, _almost_, if you take that literally…

"Oh, hey there! Are you an exorci- WAH! No, Wait! I'm not an enemy!" And just like that, their sparring match began.

The good thing about having lived with and been _trained_ by Cross Marian was the ability to dodge anything and everything thrown your way. And if you're lucky, maybe even get some returning blows in, but that was extremely rare and highly unlikely. But then, the one fighting him right now was not Cross.

Taking a split-second to look away from his opponent, he surveyed his anti-akuma weapon/makeshift-arm, _'because really, the arm has long been gone… But never mind about that! How in the world did that sword cut an Innocence… Unless…?'_

Waving his human hand at his attacker, he tried to get the other to talk to him, but only received a glare in return. The barrage of attacks continued to rain down on him, hard, swift, merciless— the blows just kept on coming. He had to get a counter-attack in somehow, not strong enough to injure his attacker, but at least just enough to make the other pause and listen to him.

"Please, wait! I was sent here by General Cross Marian!" Panting harshly, he was beginning to find it becoming increasingly hard to fight off his attacker— "Kanda-kun", according to another voice, not spoken by the gate, but presumably from beyond the gate itself, maybe even the person-in-charge of the main headquarters of the Black Order herself.

"You should have already received his recommendation letter a few months back! It was addressed to a person named 'Komui'!"

A few seconds later after being fully cornered by 'Kanda', the killing blow was _grudgingly _halted, and two figures emerged from the gate, a girl probably the same age as him, having long, straight hair tied up in pigtails, who introduced herself to be "Lenalee". The other one, a bespectacled man who appeared to be in mid- to late-twenties, introduced himself as "Komui Lee", who is, according to his own words as he trailed behind the female exorcist protectively, "first and foremost Lenalee's brother, and also the Chief Officer of the Black Order's Head European Branch".

'_How… interesting. This 'Komui'-san resembles that person so much… I wonder how he's related to—'_

"I'm so sorry about my brother, Allen-kun! He's normally a nice person, just that… You have to get used to some of his quirks first…" Interrupted out of his inner musings by Lenalee, Allen gave an unsure laugh, scratching his head while trying to appear believing of what the girl had just said.

"Ah… Hahaha… hah… Those are really **some** quirks he has… A bit more than I expected though… Can't believe he didn't order Kanda-kun to stop first until at least my recommendation letter got found… Ahaha… Haha… Haah…" Eye slightly twitching at the blatant toning down of the other's offence, he couldn't help but silently, mentally add, _'even going so far as to declare that __**if the General really sent me, I wouldn't die from the attacks so easily and so it's not necessary to halt the assault**__… He's in the same level as Master Cross!' _

Then, as if receiving an epiphany of the said man, laughing at him evilly, maniacally, he shivered in fear and distaste. _'... No… I take that back. No one can attain Master Cross' standards…'_

* * *

><p>As they entered the age-old establishment, Allen found it highly interesting as he watched Komui dodge through some robots and staff, all the while regularly glancing at him accusingly as he conversed with Lenalee. Allen couldn't help but think that he's got a severe case of sister-complex.<p>

'_Eh, I guess that's his normal behavior to people… Especially newcomers…?'_

Looking behind him to where Kanda was trailing, obviously bored and disinterested with the rest of his surroundings, but somehow in a bad mood as can be felt through the dark and heavy aura surrounding him— much like a predator who was denied its prey just as it was about to go for the kill. Inevitably, Allen wondered how his life at the organization would be like.

Several minutes later, after as many twists and turns in the passages as could be taken— _'the whole place is like a maze!'_— they finally arrived at Komui's office. Signaling to the others to give them privacy, Allen was finally left alone with the Chief Officer.

"So… Allen-kun, you are General Cross Marian's pupil, correct?" Komui's face was devoid of any emotions, as though he were evaluating what kind of person the General had chosen to take in for apprenticeship.

"Ha-hai… He has been my mentor for 3 years already. Uhm… If you're curious of his current whereabouts though, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you with that, as he had knocked me out after instructing me to come here… A-and when I came to, he had been long gone…"

At the declaration of not knowing the other's immediate location, an indescribable emotion flashed through Komui's eyes. It was so brief that Allen was for a moment unsure whether he really did see it, but in the end he knew. Afterall, he himself recognized such a look. It was the look he himself gave to his mentor whenever the other would go for his nightly escapades and leave Allen to settle the colossal bills he had fast accumulated. It was the same look he directed towards his master when he first fought off an akuma by himself, an akuma who had been his close friend until his sister died and he signed a contract with the Earl. It was the same look the pirates and thugs directed his way when he beat them at their own games and won each and every gamble they threw his way. Yes, he was very much familiar and acquainted with those eyes. _'I really wonder if I'm going to be okay here…'_

Sighing at his sudden uncertainty, a cold fear gripped him without warning at the new thought which crossed his mind. In nervous fear, he hesitantly asked Komui, "A-ano… Did… Did my master… Perhaps, uhm, w-well…"

Pausing a bit to gauge Komui's reaction and seeing nothing definitive, he pressed on reluctantly, "D-did he leave a-any more… D-d-d-de… Ehem. Debts. _Did he leave anymore debts lying around_?"

Cringing slightly at the thought, face grimacing in the unpleasantness of the situation, the awkward moment was broken when laughter boomed out heartily from none other than Komui himself.

"…HAH… AHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AH… AHAHA… AHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHA! "

Apparently having just deciphered Allen's mashed up, almost gibberish inquiry, the previous negative atmosphere surrounding the older man fully vanished, leaving behind only amusement at the overly rushed statement.

Stuck in a stupor, Allen could do nothing else but gawk and wait for Komui to regain his composure.

"Ha-ah… Ahaha… Hahaa-ahahaha! Ahahhahaha! Haha… Ahahaha… Ahm… Ahem! Hm… Ahm… I see he really left his mark on you."

Seeing as Allen continued to stare at him looking very much clueless of his implications, Komui decided to _kindly _explain his statement. "Several people have already been sent to retrieve the General, but every time they return, they all have to undergo various forms of therapy to cure them of their trauma— mostly caused by unwashed dishes, a deck of cards, bottles of liquor, and a stack of bills… Of course, there are others still, but these are the main triggers we've found so far."

Pausing for a bit to meet Allen eye-to-eye, he pushed on, tone a controlled anger at another dark memory recalled by his reiteration.

"…Seeing as you are his **student**, I wanted to see how far a damage he has already caused you mentally." Fixing his glasses, Komui continued to stare expectantly at Allen.

"Uhm… I hope I… Passed?" Allen asked with no little uncertainty.

Waving his hand in front of the boy's face as if warding off any negative thoughts, Komui replied back in an almost carefree manner, "Oh, you need not worry about that, Allen-kun, I'd say you passed with flying colors, considering that you are still able to carry out normal conversation with me despite heard Marian's name… Well, some reaction is only to be expected, but you're still definitely very much normal, Allen-kun."

Smiling kindly at the teen, Komui turned around to prepare the "Innocence repairing tools" to fix Allen's injured arm, courtesy of Kanda. Hearing the other man humming casually, Allen couldn't help but wonder what exactly happened to the others sent to "retrieve" his master.

He vaguely remembered people coming after them from time to time. It was during those times that he had been somewhat grateful that whenever those people came, his master would leave him alone for a few days, a week at most, before returning to burden him with debts again. Those were truly treasured times of reprieve.

He had, at one time, asked his master who those people were and what they needed from him, but that only resulted in his master having a bad mood and piling even more debt notices on him than usual. After that, he learned not to ask regarding those things anymore.

Then, at some point however, with their constant moving around, no one was able to follow them anymore, much to his master's great joy, that he even held a banquet to celebrate it… Which Allen was later made to pay, something which he should have expected already. There really was no end to Cross Marian's abuse, even when separated from Allen, his 'legacy' still haunts Allen unfailingly.

Shaking his head vigorously as though it could help erase his trauma and alleviate his worries— exorcists should only worry about freeing the souls trapped in an akuma, not their master's outstanding bills and those that were yet to come, those that would surely come because they _truly_ would— for Allen had a feeling that the tabs are all left under his name again. No, correct that, he was _sure_ they were.

Still feeling resentful over the matter, Allen's attention was diverted only when his Innocence, his injured arm, was suddenly belted down onto a metal table by thick leather straps, and he was faced with the sharp and heavy-looking instruments currently in Komui's dangerous grasp, with its wielder smiling creepily and giving off an ominous aura, before giving a warning of things to come in a sing-song manner as he approached the boy.

"All those things aside, we need to fix your arm now Allen-kun. Please stay still until the end of the treatment, to prevent… Further injuries on your person."

A pain-filled scream echoed loudly through the halls of the headquarters, followed by a lower sound of manic laughter.

* * *

><p>Cool night air slowly filtered in through the slightly gaping window, barely even making the heavy velvet curtains flutter. The whistling of the penetrating wind singing a duet with the uniform ticking of the age-old grandfather's clock, these were the only noise which could be heard in the unlit room, aside from the occasional rustling of the bed sheets and the pained moaning from its occupant.<p>

_I'll be by your side no matter what happens…_

Twisting and turning in his sleep, the man tried to bury himself deeper into the sheets.

_Don't push yourself too hard, okay?_

Clutching his abdomen tighter, he moaned in pain, tears starting to form in his eyes.

_You're special, one of a kind! The thirteenth Noah… MY thirteenth Noah…_

Groaning in pain, the man gripped the sheets in his fist, tight.

_Will you stay with us forever? With me forever?_

Now shouting out in agony, tears fell freely upon the man's cheeks as the dam holding his past memories broke and the memories began rushing through him uncontrolled.

_Why? How could you even think of trying to kill me?_

…_betrayal by our own blood._

_I'll be by your side no matter what happens…_

_We'll be happy together… Ne, Adam?_

Now sobbing aloud in unrestrained show of pain, the man whimpered out in agony, "With such a smile… How could you betray me after giving such a beautiful smile?"

…_betrayal by our own blood._

…_**betrayal by our own blood.**_

"-rl-sama!... Earl-sama! Wake up, Earl-sama! Earl-sama!"

Eyelids opening to reveal glinting scarlet-red orbs, the Earl shot up from his bed, sweating profusely and panting harshly, clutching his chest in an attempt to calm down his breathing.

"Road… Road! Oh, Road… He's alive!" Clutching Road's shoulders tightly and proceeding to shake the other back and forth as though forcing understanding of the matter.

"Earl-sama…" Unsure how to reply, Road could only call for him once more.

"No… That's not exactly correct… He's back. Road, **he** is back! My Nea is back! I can feel his existence, can hear his voice. I see his smiling face again, that same gentle smile he showed me before… Before betraying our family… I can hear his mocking tone as he slaughtered each of my Noahs one by one…" Speaking hurriedly in a crazed manner, the Earl hopped out of bed and began dressing up in haste.

"We must find him! We must find him soon!" Now on his way to exit the room, the Earl looked back at Road, who was still rooted to her previous position beside the bed when she was waking up the Earl.

Insanity-filled eyes opened wide, so wide that the tiny veins at the corners showed, he gave a wide grin, showing off his cuspid fangs, as he reached out to his family and his lesser servants. "Time to hunt, my dear Noahs and my children, akumas. He will learn of the consequences of his betrayal, it's our turn to make him feel our pain, the pain that he has caused us."

* * *

><p>"Hmmm… The corridors of this place are really very interesting… I wonder how they get about, when all these paths look entirely the same, eh Timcampy?" Head moving left and right as he surveyed the grounds, Allen couldn't help but feel slightly worried at his current predicament.<p>

'_I'm getting kinda hungry too…'_

He had been roaming the labyrinth for almost three hours already, and he had yet to encounter some form of life. It was all mostly empty halls and vacant rooms, _'…although there were also some strangely-named stuff lying around, like the… Koma… Komu… Komi… Argh! The koma-something-V… Or was it komu? Ah~ nevermind! But there are really lotsa interesting stuff lying around everywhere... Especially those golem-like looking black thingies, and the smoking colorful liquids…'_

"Ne, Tim, think you can help me find the way to the cafeteria? I remember it was somewhere along this path according to Komui-san…"

It was already his second day, or rather, night, of staying in the Black Order's headquarters. After the torture the chief officer, Komui, had subjected him to, everything else was already pretty smooth-sailing. _'Okay, maybe not everything… Hevlaska really did scare the hell out of me, probing into me like that without even a word of warning…'_

Shuddering at the memory of the night before, Allen gave an uncharacteristic evil smirk as he thought of what he had done next to deal with the trauma. _'After a warning like that, I bet Komui-san won't mess around with me so much anymore… Heheh… Heheheh… Heheheheheheh…'_

Really, it was rare that he got into such a mood. It had happened for only a handful of times, mostly because his master left him a new stack of bills to pay for when he had just finished paying off the previously accumulated debts. Yes, indeed it was a rare thing to happen, after all, he rarely did get the chance to fully pay off the debts before newer ones had already been accumulated. But back to the situation at hand, he was seriously lost. And he was also seriously getting hungrier and hungrier by the second, even the concrete walls were starting to look edible. He sincerely hoped Tim would find someone to help them out of this maze before he started eating out the thick walls and be labeled as more of a peculiarity than he already has been.

Unknown to Allen, there was another pair of eyes observing the area much like his very own were doing so right now, but the senses were more keen and more refined. The sights were certainly interesting, and what had missed the boy's attention was easily absorbed by the shadow, the unnamed being. _'Things haven't changed much at all, it seems…'_

Chuckling to itself, the unnamed being continued to silently observe the area, at the same time watching Allen walk around almost haplessly, with Timcampy flapping above him as if urging the teen to keep on walking. _'Well, well… He's really grown up into a fine, young man.'_

Voice grinning in an undefined emotion, the shadow's attention was suddenly captured by the low murmurings it heard. _'Sounds near… No, definitely not the surprise welcoming party for the boy just up ahead…'_

Trying to listen more intently at the quickly-fading sound, the shadow suddenly recoiled at the presence it felt, returning back to its sanctuary to prevent possible detection by the sound's maker. _'It can't be… Th-that… That spell!'_

Putting up its safety wards, the unnamed shadow tried to block out the seemingly harmless and gibberish murmurs echoing around the walls of the place.

'_Damn it! I'm still too weak to fight it… I guess it's not time yet, then… I will have to remain in hiding for now.'_

Glancing one last time at the teen and the golden golem, the unnamed being gave one last smile before dissolving once more into its own shadows.

* * *

><p><em><strong>*Footnotes:<strong>_

_Accelerando- a symbol used in musical notation indicating the gradual increase of the tempo. _


	6. Chapter 5: Da Capo

**A/N (Rin): **Sorry for the delay, RL has caught up to us both(and with vengeance. LOL), so we won't be able to update once a month anymore, but we will complete this. Kanarazu da! ;3

While writing out this chapter on my handy-dandy-purple-notebook, I forgot to check on the plot points I had previously jotted down in this document. When I finally finished 75% of my part and was typing it in this MSWord document, I was shocked to see that almost everything from the original scenario had been changed… Yes, to the extent that even the title name had to be changed… I erased that fully and left it for another chapter instead, felt that it was much too early to reveal here~ (Hime didn't see the chappy title as well~ since I still do wanna surprise her when the time comes, even if she has my whole plot notes~ hahahaha~) Maa~ let's hope it's all for the better though, ne? XD

**A/N (Con-Hime): **Hello, minna~ Sorry for this very late update. Blame it on me 'coz it took me a very long time to finish my part mainly because of work and writer's block. Also, it's my first time to write for this pairing so imagine how nervous I was when I began working on the lemony parts. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this instalment and spare me and my twin from your anger or impatience, LOL. XD

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimers &amp; Warnings: <strong>

**Rin: I don't own DGray-Man… Be warned that this story contains major spoilers, lots and lots of it~ Oh, and yeah, this chappy contains mild smut(an idea which I'm hating myself for and loving how Hime did it so PERFECTLY) with a minor(15 y/o… almost 16)~ ^_^**

**Con-Hime: I don't own DGray-Man or this fic. The genius behind this story is no other than my awesome twin, Rin.^^**

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><p><strong>The Musician<strong>

**Chapter 6: Da Capo **

"_Lacrimosa dies illa  
>Qua resurget ex favilla<br>Judicandus homo reus…"*_

A few weeks had already passed since his first mission out with Kanda, but for some reason, Allen still could not take his mind off of the eerie, melancholic song. It felt as though the melody triggered something within him, like a distant memory of… Well, he couldn't quite pin the thought down, but he was unable to shake off the feeling that whatever the song was triggering, it was essential somehow, and it felt even more so after Mana's curse had been reactivated and became stronger.

He had lost his left eye, his _akuma_ eye, when they had battled the little girl who called herself 'Rhode', claiming to be a member of the 'Noah family', the **Earl's** family. He never thought he'd get to meet someone directly related to the Earl so soon, and to have the person gain interest in him… Well, that was that, and the next moment he woke up, he found Komui hovering dangerously over him, while clutching onto his 'Innocence repairing' drill, apparently preparing to 'heal' Allen.

Having been reminded of his injuries, he was just about to make a fuss about where and how Lenalee was, when a red-haired boy joined in their conversation, assuring him that she was being taken cared of by the said boy's grandpa, and finally introducing himself as 'Lavi'. He and the older teen immediately got along pretty well, although his dependency on his then absent akuma-sight, courtesy of Rhode, got him reprimanded a bit by the older boy when they met with a 'situation'.

A short while after both his and Lenalee's recovery, they were given a new mission— much to his utter dread— to look for his master, General Cross Marian, and help protect him as they bring him back to the headquarters. And so, Allen, Lenalee, and Lavi, proceeded on their journey to hunt for the evasive general.

Taking a turn for the better, as he'd like to believe, he got left behind by the train in one of their journey breaks. Captured by the villagers in hopes of having him, along with Lavi— who was sent back by Lenalee to retrieve him, in case he got lost again, which he was well-known for back in the headquarters after having gotten lost for a whole day at one time, after which he was assigned another golem to act as his own guide around the place— to exterminate a notorious, untouchable 'vampire'.

Really, it had been problematic at first, considering his akuma-sight was down, but after being knocked out by Eliade, the akuma lady 'manipulating' the timid 'vampire', and almost getting his head lopped off, his Innocence acted out on its own again, much like how it had moved and attacked the newly akuma-transformed Mana.

Recalling what had happened, he remained unsure whether the voice he heard was a sign of good luck, or an omen.

* * *

><p>'<em><strong>I'm back, Allen'<strong> A voice whispered in his head as he slowly regained consciousness._

'_**The darkness had returned…'** Sensing and seeing the presence of an akuma, Allen gathered his resolve once more. _

_His black-and-white world has returned._

_Going into offensive mode, he was suddenly engulfed in the darkness of his memory once more. A figure appearing behind him, feeling a presence similar to and who he had assumed was Mana's, he called out to the memory. "Mana…?"_

_Met only by silence, Allen pushed on, "Even if I can no longer see out of my left eye, I intend to continue being an exorcist…" Still met by silence, Allen continued on, feeling slightly deterred by the lack of response, by the lack of assurance that what he was doing was the right thing to do._

"_Just like my friends, I have made the vow…" _

_Still receiving no response, Allen's smile faltered and he began to weep bitterly, quietly calling out the name of the man he considered his father. _

"_Mana…" _

_As his tears fell, the mirage-like image began to dissolve in a mist, and finally giving a response._

'_**If that's the case… Go deeper.' **Its whole image vanishing, leaving behind the figure of an akuma's skull as he gradually regained his senses in the actual world._

'_**To a world darker than black, brighter than white… Embrace it.' **_

* * *

><p>Afterwards, everything had gone off in almost a breeze. <em>Almost<em> because they had been in danger of being eaten by the huge carnivorous flower Krory had insulted on purpose to end his life, after the death of Eliade, whom he had been in love with. A few minutes of talking inside the flower though, all the three of them finally got out safely, welcoming a new exorcist comrade.

It was troubling to find out that Mana's curse seemed to have gotten stronger though, what with Lavi and Krory apparently having been enabled to see the bound soul of the akuma. Now, he truly felt like he himself was an akuma, even being able to 'level-up' his abilities like that.

Sighing in slight frustration, he decided to set the issue aside for the moment and focus on the more recent… Occurrences?

'_Maa, can it be really described as such though? It's not really **occurrences**, more like… Strange… Dreams…?'_

"I haven't had those in a long time… Why now, I wonder?"

"…is it perhaps because of that… _Rosanne*_? No, maybe it's because of the recent gambling I did_… Heh. Heheheh. Hehehehehe. Hehe. Hehehe…_" He couldn't help but give off an evil aura and a menacing glint to form in his eyes as he recalled the incident five days back…

* * *

><p>He and Lavi had been trying their best to console and get Krory out of his depression bout, when Lavi suggested that Krory take a tour around the train to preoccupy his mind with something else while they travelled, an idea which the older man took all too willingly.<p>

The change of mood and attitude totally surprised the two teens, and they had been more than happy to let the older man wander on his own, that is, until he had not yet returned to their cabin even after three hours. He had been worried that Krory had gotten lost, but Lavi was doubtful of such a thing happening, considering that the train they had taken was quite small. Walking around, they finally arrived upon an almost naked Krory, who was pitted against three men, playing poker.

Seeing his new friend being cheated literally almost out of his skin made his dark side, his blood of survival, flow, the fluid of life cultivated in him since young by his ruthless training under the General Cross Marian. He will not let anyone outwit him, nor win against him, especially not in the game of cards. He was THE master of gambling. The master of cards. THE BEST CHEAT anyone would ever find.

Betting his exorcist robes for all of Krory's clothes, he steadily beat the three men, out-cheating(if there was ever such a word) them at their own game, and in a few moments' time, they were the ones left in only their underwear. It was truly fun seeing the men's expressions change from smug to panicked in just a few minutes. But, a game was a game, even if all parties cheated, and despite them cheating Krory mercilessly almost out of his hide, Allen was gracious enough to return them their own stuff which they had used to bet against him. This had, surprisingly, earned him good acquaintances in the three men, and an even greater respect from "Eeez", the young boy travelling with the group, who offered to give Allen his treasure.

He couldn't accept such a thing however, but one of the trio, the young mestizo wearing very thick round glasses, threw Allen a stack of cards to even-out both party's 'winnings', shouting out a friendly parting call of "There ya go, shounen! Please let us off with that, okay?" as the train began to move again.

Upon returning to their cabin, Allen couldn't help but affectionately inspect the deck of cards and notice that there was only one joker, instead of a pair. Smiling absently, unseeingly, at the image of the crowned skull with bat wings and a crescent moon on the card, he lost himself in thought, twirling the lone joker in his human hand, he had unexpectedly enjoyed playing with the group.

He did not notice the eyes of the skull glowing a light purple, nor the uncanny resemblance of the image to the captive souls of the akuma.

After that short moment of reprieve however, his dreams started to get plagued by strange… Things?

'…_and it gets more and more vivid each time… Longer as well… Could it possibly be something like a premonition...?'_

* * *

><p><em>Blinking to himself in confusion, Allen eyed the drastic change of scenery and immediately knew that he was dreaming. Why he felt so aware and awake in his dream, he did not know, and he didn't want to know either. The only thing he knew was that the place he was currently at in his dream world, wherever the place might really be, was definitely a better sight than the plain, dull interior of the train cabin he had been stuck in for the whole day.<em>

_The relaxing lush greenery blocking the sun's heat, the gently flowing brook softly chortling merrily against the smooth pebbles, the soft grass which felt cool and slightly damp beneath his feet, the birds warbling gaily nearby as they flitted from one tree to the next, the complimenting aroma of various blooming flowers… He felt as though he were in paradise. _

_And add to that the beautiful voice calling out to him… _

_Wait. Calling out… to him…?_

"_Allen..."_

_A quick gasp and the next thing he knew, a pair of strong yet lithe arms were around him, embracing him, hugging him close, rendering him immobile. Warmth spread all over his back as hot breath tickled the back of his head, causing his entire body to shiver._

"_Who are you?"  
><em>

_A deep chuckle was the only answer he heard before soft lips caressed the side of his neck.  
><em>

* * *

><p>"<em>Who are you?" He asked when he encountered the mysterious man in his dream once again.<em>

_The setting was now different from when he first 'met' the man, but like before, it was still beautifully breathtaking. A wide, spacious, oval room with off-white colored walls accented by the violets, greens, and gold of the painting of grapes and grapevines running through the enclosed structure. The floor was covered completely by the soft, thick, cashmere, lavender carpet, with a pattern of thin, dark purple, random swirls. Aside from the grand piano situated at the middle of the room, the whole area was left without any other form of furniture, and receiving only natural light from the sun through the clear-glass rooftop._

_It all paled in comparison to the being now facing him however, his stance exuding a tremendous amount of confidence, of power. The male was in front of him, dressed in a long-sleeved, button-down, white, silk shirt and a pair of straight-cut, slim, black, satin pants. He had a nice built, not too small, nor was it too large for his stature, but impressive firm muscles were evident through the sleeves and chest of the button-down shirt he was clad in. He also had warm, caramel skin which reminded him of a sweet, delectable desert that almost made him lick his lips in sudden hunger... and yet, he couldn't see his face. At some areas, the light was too bright in his dream, blocking the sight instead of defining it, as if it chose what he was only allowed to see._

_Instead of responding to his curiosity, the mysterious man took his left hand, his Innocence hand, and brought it to his face. Allen's breath hitched, heat suddenly erupting from every pore in his body as those invisible lips touched the back of his hand, bestowing a gentle kiss that made his body tingle in both pleasure and fear._

_Despite the cold feeling of danger that struck his chest, he snatched his hand away and took a step back, his face conveying irritation and confusion. "Why don't you tell me who you are?" He demanded softly, yet firmly, but the man only smirked at him._

* * *

><p>"<em>You want to know my name, don't you?" The mysterious man asked when they met again.<em>

_Like before, the setting was different again from his previous dream. This time, he was standing in the middle of the desert, the golden sand feeling both coarse and smooth, and warm and cool on his feet, like he was walking on powdered silk. The horizon stretched out, sun occasionally being covered by cumulus clouds, gusts of wind blowing gently around him as though forming an embrace, the place was barren, nothing to show of any forms of life aside from the two of them, and yet the place felt very much alive._

_Allen was curious, he had been so ever since his dreams had started to get plagued by this strange being. "Isn't that the reason why I'm asking you?" He retorted, annoyance present in his voice._

_The man produced a particular sound that Allen found enchanting, a deep chuckle that made his entire body tremble when he heard it. "I'll tell you my name if you let me do one thing to you."_

"_And... and what's that?" He asked hesitantly, fear creeping up in his chest. He had a bad feeling about the other man's request._

"_I'll tell you my name if you let me kiss you."_

_Allen gawked, his entire body going numb. A reply of disagreement was ready to fly off his lips when in the next second, the man was suddenly in front of him, trapping him as a strong arm wrapped around his waist and a hand ghosted over his cheek. The scent of vanilla wafted in his nose, rendering his senses blurred as he found himself face to face with nothing but the soft white, bright light that hid the face of his mysterious captor._

* * *

><p>"<em>S-stay away from me." Allen said in a trembling tone as his back hit a sturdy wall, his heart palpitating madly in his chest as the mysterious being sauntered closely towards him.<em>

_Of all the places he wanted to be at, in such a situation, a gazebo was definitely not one of them, even more so when the gazebo was surrounded by a piranha-infested lake, as was proved by the unfortunate piece of raw mutton when he first tried to escape the other man's grasp. Yes, he had been trying to cook it before the other arrived— Allen was now able to determine when the mysterious man was present, there was always the unusual sensation of having control and consciousness in his dreams. Despite the deadly beauty of the surrounding lake, the small structure provided little to no form of protection or escape from his persistent visitor._

_A small smirk was the only answer to his demand before the faceless male finally stood in front of him, his tall stature towering over him. He raised a hand to push the other man away, only to get caught in the stranger's embrace. The beating of his heart picked up its speed, palpitated in a pace where he thought it would burst inside his chest if it continued its fast rhythm as he looked up at bright, white light and smelled the familiar, alluring scent of vanilla._

"_Why are you doing this? Let go of me!" He protested as he forced every muscle in his body to jerk away from the mysterious man._

_He felt the other man's chest rumble, producing another smirk from his invisible lips— don't ask him how he knew what sort of expression the other was making, he just sort of… did. _

_Allen closed his eyes with a heavy heart as his captor leaned closer towards him, avoiding the almost painful prickle of the white light that covered the face of the mysterious being. Before he could even figure out what was going on, those familiar lips were already on his neck, spreading butterfly kisses that sent his body shivering in unwanted delight._

"_You haven't even told me your name yet…" He whispered, feeling weak to the pleasant sensations created by the unnamed man possessively clinging to him._

* * *

><p><em>Aside from being able to miraculously breathe and talk underwater, and have an even lesser control of his movements than his pursuer, his next dream involving the mysterious male was no different. The strange man still pursued him, made fun of him, teased him to his limits, only this time, the male had effectively pinned him down to the sea floor and was hovering over him.<em>

_Allen felt like he was on the verge of death, danger literally lurking over him, feeling his captor's eyes raked on his terrified face. Like a butterfly who's body and wings were about to be pinned by the lepidopterist* and kept as a collection. The last thing he wanted was to be with this man and there he was, trapped beneath him with no hope of escape._

_The mysterious being let out a small laugh, a deep sound that Allen found enchanting for some reason. "I'm giving you a chance to know me, Allen. Isn't that what you want?"_

"_Shut up! I want to know you but not in this way, you bastard! Get off me!"_

_Another laugh was the only response he got from his protests before white light blinded his eyes, forcing him to close them as the other man leaned down and peppered soft, feather-light kisses around his neck, the contrast of the cool water and the man's warm hand and lips caressing his skin causing all the hair in his body to stand on end. He was not enjoying the other man's teasing. He hated it, hated it because he was close to giving up and admitting that he was slowly liking it._

"_S-stop."_

_An empty plea fell from his lips, unheard by the mysterious man as those plush lips continued its ascent towards his jaw, his body jerking in surprise and a strangled moan escaping his throat as he felt something wet trail along that particular part of his face, the wet appendage, which he surmised was a tongue, moved to his ear and softly blew warm breath over it._

"_Are you enjoying yourself, Allen? You like this don't you?" They mysterious male said, his voice deep and husky._

_Allen moved his head to the side, trying to get away from that abusive mouth. "No! Stop! Go away!" He yelled, tears brimming over his eyes as hopelessness and anger, and something he didn't want to acknowledge, filled his heart._

_The mysterious male's lips were on him again, as if kissing him in apology, effectively making his head into a muddled mess, making his insides burn with heat that he didn't want flowing in his veins. Those lips were moving nearer and nearer to his own, causing him to panic even more as it was only a centimeter away from his quivering appendage. He took a deep breath, preparing for the worse as the mysterious being captured his lips in a deep kiss that robbed him of the ability to breathe, think and move. He was torn between anger and pleasure, confusion and desire, emotions that he didn't and could never show. He just stayed still, allowing the other man to explore his mouth and taste him as his body temperature increased._

_After what he thought was almost an eternity, the mysterious male gently let go of him, finally allowing him to breathe and pick up his scattered wits. The reprieve was short-lived, however. _

_Allen had hoped that the man would also get off him but much to his dismay he didn't, but what tore the last tendrils of peace he had been tightly holding onto the most was when he realized that after the kiss, he could finally clearly see the complete visage of the man plaguing his dreams. The mysterious male that plagued his dreams was probably the most sensuous creature he had ever seen. The stranger had long, dark, soft-looking, wavy locks which was tied in a loose ponytail on one side, beautifully framing his handsome face, cascading along the length of his neck and reaching his waist. He had a pair of copper-colored eyes, reddish-brown hues that gleamed with deep mystery and playfulness and a certain hint of charisma that made his knees buckle as he continued to stare at them. He also noticed a small mole just beneath his captor's left eye, a small detail that only intensified his gorgeous features and added to his mesmerizing appeal. Apparently noticing his bewitched expression, the stranger, clearly pleased, released an amused smile, closed their distance once again, and whispered. _

"_My name is Joyd."_

* * *

><p>"…the master's really more trouble that he's worth at times… No, make that always…" Grumbling quietly, and beginning to stew in anger, Allen was diverted from his current preoccupation by the amused voice of his red-haired companion.<p>

"What, Allen, bad-mouthing your master again? And it's so early in the morning too… I bet the poor fella's been havin' a sneezing fit for quite some time already." The red-head yawned wide, scratching his head as he stretched his body, and grinned towards their small group, droopy eyes showing his mirth.

'_Trigger huh… Maybe it's his red hair that's making me have all these strange dreams…'_

Once more lost in his thought, Allen failed to notice the hammer's head slowly nearing him until its weight had fully settled on the side of his head, and not so gently at that.

"Hey Allen, don't go spacin' out on me again, y'hear?" An angry vein popped on the older teen's forehead as he continued to speak, while seemingly attempting to drill Allen's head with his hammer.

"Ya've been totally out of it ever since the gambling incident with Kro-chan here three days back, yeah? Mind telling me what's up?" Droopy eyes now focused on Allen, with an undisguised look of worry, the younger teen began to address the situation when their previously silent and newly-acquired companion spoke up as well.

"I-i-is that so Allen-kun? C-c-could it p-possibly be because of what I h-had tro-troubled you with at that t-time?" Eyes steadily tearing up, the pale man interjected. He had been keeping quiet the whole time, but the thought that he was the one who caused his newfound friend grave discomfort…

"M-m-maybe you should've just left me to die back then afterall…" Now bawling out and appearing uncharacteristically child-like (or as it is, he actually **was** child-like, much to the two's earlier surprise) for his age, with snot dripping down his nose, Allen hurriedly tried to quell the two's worries.

Yes, the concerns were not unfounded, but he'd rather not have them digging into what was making him feel so ill at ease. Doing so would just make him dig deeper into his own grave, which was currently filled with quickly becoming ridiculous-and-dangerous realizations.

Lifting up both hands in an appeasing manner, Allen gave the first excuse that came to his mind, "Well, you see… We're all supposed to **look** for **and** protect master… I mean, General Cross, right?" At the nod of the two, he continued, "I'm not really looking forward to meet with him again anytime soon… Also, thinking about what would happen if Lenalee were to meet him first…"

Leaving the rest of his sentence trailing off, he left it at that, leaving the two to their imagination… Or rather _Lavi_ to his imagination. The older teen was after all more acquainted with his master, compared to Krory. He was sure to have heard of the general's insidious womanizing ways.

As the realization dawned upon Lavi, the red-haired teen's face quickly shifted from color to color, first red, then becoming pale white, and finally transitioning to blue. He was frozen in horror for a moment until he suddenly stood up, grabbed his Iron Hammer, and began heading for the train's closest opening.

Acting almost in reflex, Allen and Krory held onto Lavi tight to preventing him from jumping out of the train and use his Innocence to hammer-bounce his way to their rendezvous point with Lenalee. "No! Don't stop meeeeeeeee! He… That bastard general's going to..! LENALEEEEEEEEE~!" Voice echoing and trailing out behind with the dust left behind by their transport, Lavi was only effectively calmed down when Krory mentioned the fact that there was "only a day's worth of travel left before they reach their destination", and when Allen reassured him that Lenalee would "surely be waiting" for their arrival and that "she will most likely not go ahead to look for the master on her own, despite having Timcampy with her" and that "Komui will not allow her to do so as well, considering his extreme case of sister-complex".

"Hey, to pass time, how about we play a game of cards? No bets, just pure fun." Smiling amicably, Allen brought the deck out, shuffled it, and began dealing out the cards.

* * *

><p>It was almost evening when the three exorcists finished their game. As expected, Allen had easily won, and Lavi and Krory were left with nothing but their frustration and disappointment. No matter how hard they tried, their luck and skill were no match for Allen's wit and years of experience.<p>

After dinner, they've decided to retire for the evening and laid down on their respective beds. In less than ten minutes, Krory and Lavi were already snoring the night away while Allen was still awake, both his unnatural eyes staring calmly at the bright, full moon that peeked in the window beside his bed. He was exhausted, but was afraid of going to sleep. He didn't want to have weird dreams and meet that mysterious man again, the mysterious being who called himself 'Joyd'.

He had no idea who Joyd was. He had never met nor had seen him before, and even if he did, he knew he would remember immediately because the enigmatic male was too intriguing and too handsome to forget.

He kept on staring at the moon, his akuma and normal eye focused on the dips and shadows that decorated the ethereal heavenly body. For a moment, he wondered if it would be possible for people to go there someday. But the world is full of smart and intelligent people, he was certain that the idea wouldn't be impossible in the future.

As he continued to immerse himself with his current musings, he failed to recognize that his eyes were closing on its own and in the next few seconds, he had already fallen asleep.

* * *

><p>He was gazing at the moon, mind deep in thought, when he felt a familiar aura and a light dip at the side of his bed. With a shocked gasp, he immediately tore his eyes away from the celestial body outside his window and gazed into a pair of deep, bronze eyes that gleamed like fireflies through the darkness of the room. Fear and panic quickly filled his heart as he recognized the owner of those captivating orbs. But even before he could make a move to get away as his instincts had immediately told him to, Joyd was already on top of him, hovering above him in a proximity that made his entire body shiver and his face immediately flush in heat.<p>

'_How did he get here? I was in my room with... Where's Lavi and Krory? Am I dreaming?'_

All he could do was stare with wide, fearful and confused eyes as he looked back at the other man. He swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry as Joyd's breath wafted dangerously on his burning face, further destroying the remaining bits and pieces of his composure and sane thoughts.

'_This can't be happening! No!'_

'…_I'm awake. Right?'_

'_So then… Why is he here?'_

'_This can't be… NO!'_

He opened his lips, planning to say something but no words came out. He was immobile, unable to move and properly think, as if the mysterious being on top of him had stolen all his strength and will. He could only gape like a fish out of water as a handsome grin languidly curved up at the dark-haired man's perfect lips.

"We meet again, Allen." Joyd whispered, his voice was low, deep, sending a delicious chill down his spine.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and compose his thoughts. He closed his eyes shut and opened them again, anger and courage now gleaming in his eyes. "Get off me!" He shot back, every word thick with venom and warning. He raised his hands to push the man away but Joyd was quick and in a split second, both of his limbs were on top of his head, trapped by his captor's hands.

Panic surged further inside his chest. This wasn't the first time that the mysterious creature had trapped him and in each of his dreams, he had always somehow ended up being pinned down or trapped by the other man. He should've already learned from his mistakes and had anticipated this kind of action from his attacker, but clearly, he still hadn't learned his lesson. Mustering all of his strength, he attempted to yank his hands and jerked his entire body to get away from his captor, but just like in his previous dreams, he was unable to do so.

Joyd let out a small chuckle, his copper irises looking deeply at him. "I only wanted to see you, Allen. No need to act so violently." The dark-haired man said in a teasing voice that made blood rush harder in his head.

"No need to act so violently?" Allen asked incredulously as he glared at him. "How could I when you're-"

His words were cut off when he suddenly found himself being deprived of his right to breathe and speak by a pair of soft lips upon his own. In an instant, his mind had become pure mush and the little courage that he had mustered were reduced into dust and flew away as Joyd's lips tasted him.

He closed his eyes tight, his entire body twitching in unwanted lust as the mysterious male continued to plunder his lips, coaxing a small gasp from his throat when he felt a slick tongue enter his mouth and slithered around the wet cavern. His lungs ached inside his chest, burning from lack of oxygen as he had no way to rush air inside his body, while an addicting sweetness overwhelmed his sense of taste, a sensation brought my Joyd's soft lips.

Just when he thought he was going to die from suffocation, the dark-haired man finally let go of him. Still, he didn't take the chance to breathe and slowly opened his eyes, catching the sight of his attacker staring hungrily at his now swollen lips. His mind couldn't think properly and all he could do was gaze back at Joyd, confusion, fear and desire gleaming in his huge eyes.

The handsome man smirked and licked his lips, causing Allen's body to clench in desire. The little action just spelled temptation in his muddled brain and it did nothing to calm his raging nerves and emotions. Joyd's copper-colored orbs then travelled from his lips, to his sweating neck and to his heaving chest, desire and twisted amusement evident in those hypnotizing eyes. For a moment, Allen hoped the man would do nothing more than just steal a kiss from him, but judging on how those beautiful eyes sparkled darkly with malice and lust, he knew that was not going to happen.

The mysterious being leaned closer once more, this time attacking his neck and showering that part of his body with soft, wet kisses, just like he did in his previous dreams. Allen's breath became ragged, his entire body writhing against his captor's body as those sinful lips touched every inch of his skin.

"No." He uttered, or more likely, moaned. "Don't… Joyd!"

The handsome man stopped from his teasing actions and gazed at him again, his deep, bronze eyes, giving him a look that said he didn't believe a word he had said. "You say no, but your body says otherwise." He retorted with a smirk and darted his vision towards the expanse of his torso. Because of his squirming and struggling, his shirt had ridden up to his body, exposing almost half of his midriff, which was now being ogled by the man on top of him.

"You have such a smooth and beautiful skin, Allen, despite all the fights and danger you've been through." He whispered, every word piercing deep inside his heart and further fuelling the desire that was already burning in his veins. "I do love the way my name sounds on your mouth…"

Allen closed his eyes shut and tried to will away the hypnotizing tone in Joyd's voice, wondering as to why he was deeply affected by the other man's words alone, why a single utterance from the mysterious being was enough to make his mind swim with lust and his body ignite with forbidden desire.

He took another deep breath, forcing himself to calm down despite knowing that his efforts were probably useless. He just watched as the dark-haired man suddenly removed one of his hands around his wrists, yelping in surprise as he felt it glide along his stomach. He held his breath and bit his bottom lip hard, a delicious jolt tingling on his skin as his captor's hand trailed upwards and disappeared inside his shirt.

A strangled groan escaped his dried throat, sparks of various sensations coursed through his entire body in an instant when Joyd's palm passed along his nipple, causing the smirk on the mysterious being's lips to widen in amusement and delight.

* * *

><p>Golden copper orbs watched with interest as his pet writhed and squirmed underneath him. He revelled on the sight of that beautiful, youthful face flushed with desire and fear from his own feelings, captivated by the sight of how the young exorcist mulled over fighting back and giving in to him as he tortured his body. So far, his plan was working well. He had successfully teased and seduced the youth into liking him, and he knew that with a stronger push, if he continued to teach the young male about the wonders of pleasure, he would have Allen Walker to take and later on, kill.<p>

A familiar tingle ran through his spine at the thought. He couldn't wait to see the look on the young exorcist's face, who would by then, be hopefully wearing a thoroughly dishevelled appearance, with the diverse expressions of lust, ecstasy, fear, and regret once he realized that after the feeling of rapture he had been immersed in, the feeling of euphoria **he** would be giving him, he was going to die. He licked his lips in anticipation of the look of shock, of hurt and betrayal on the young boy's face, no one was too young to die after all, especially for one who was an exorcist. Yet at the same time, disappointment was also burning inside him since the boy had been a very good source of entertainment for him. Killing the young teen this early was such a pity.

'_He has been such a wonderful toy…'_

Calmly taking a deep breath, he tore his eyes away from his victim's face and focused them on the youth's heaving chest where his fingers were currently teasing one hardened nub, causing the young male before him to breathe heavily and hide his face in the mattress in shame as pleasure washed over him. There was no doubt that Allen was almost under his spell and in the next few minutes, he would be giving into him.

A deep chuckle vibrated through his throat, immersing himself further in the amusing reactions he was receiving from his poor victim. But he wanted more. No, he needed more. Thus, he momentarily ceased his current ministrations and took his hand out of the boy's shirt. Allen's eyes quickly flew open in surprise and in a snap, the youth was thinking of what was going to be his next move with curiosity and dread as reflected in his grey orbs, the widely opened windows to his soul steadily growing darker with each passing moment. He responded to his pet's silent question with a devilish grin and proceeded to push the younger male's shirt up, further exposing his torso and showing off his entire chest.

He felt the small body underneath him tense and with a small lick of his lips, he leaned down and placed the pink nub he had abused a while ago between his lips.

* * *

><p>"Aaaahhh..." A long moan erupted from Allen's throat as pleasure ran through his body in waves, huge, powerful waves. His heart was beating erratically in his chest from too many mixed and confusing emotions, and if Joyd continued with his cruel assault, he was afraid he would be dying of heart attack any time soon. He wanted to stop himself from reacting further towards the dark-haired male's ministrations, but his body was slowly losing the ability to listen to his brain. He swallowed another huge lump in his throat and tried to focus on other things aside from the feeling of those soft lips carefully biting and sucking on his nipple. The sensations it caused was too intense, too overwhelming for him to bear that it was impossible for him to distract himself at this moment.<p>

His back arched off the mattress, the balls of his feet planting firmly on the crumpled sheets beneath him as his body continued to betray him and that sinful mouth relentlessly suckled on his already abused nipple.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the Noah of pleasure fully enjoyed himself with his treat, immensely delighted at the soft sighs and sharp gasps he was coaxing from his lust-blinded victim. He momentarily stopped on the pinkish nub he had been suckling and swirled the tip of his tongue around it, causing the lithe body beneath him to twist further in ecstasy.<p>

His golden eyes darted up, glancing at the face of the young exorcist, exuberance and accomplishment further fuelling his own desires as he witnessed how Allen's face became flushed with mixed bliss and shame. Smirking inwardly, he left the reddened nipple he was showering with affection and moved to its twin, applying the same treatment he had bestowed and coaxing the same mind-blowing reaction from its owner.

* * *

><p>Allen had no idea what to do. His mind was telling him that this was wrong, and in his heart he also knew that it was, but his body had completely betrayed him and all he could do was moan and squirm under Joyd's heated touches and addicting kisses. Any words of refusal or threat had all but remained in his lips, deep in his throat— replaced by strangled moans and needy groans of ecstasy. Maybe he should just give up, give in, and allow Joyd, this enigmatic yet beautiful being, to do whatever he wanted with him. After all, he felt good. Why would it be wrong to give in to something that made him feel good?<p>

The last bit of his sanity slowly left him as his will to struggle against his captor weakened, even more so when he felt those soft lips leave his nipple, only to make a trail of heated kisses along his stomach and down to the waist band of his pajamas.

'_Yes.'_

'_Please...'_

He felt a hand caress his hip, further messing with his thoughts and blinding him with more promises of good things that were yet to come and he inhaled, his skin tingling with excitement. Another long sigh escaped him as that hand slid towards his-

'_**Allen...'**_

His eyes flew open and the next thing he knew, he was staring at the dark ceiling with pure dread and fear in his eyes. Joyd was nowhere to be seen, his presence couldn't be felt, the wonderful heat emanating from his body was gone.

He quickly shot up from his bed and looked around, seeing that Krory and Lavi were on their beds, still asleep and snoring, realizing that he was drenched in sweat and there was an obvious tent between his legs. He wasn't really sure what happened, but in his dreams, he had seen Joyd once again and the other man had done some really disturbing things to him…

'_No, quite a lot actually…'_

Roughly combing his fingers through his wet, silver locks, he crashed back on his bed again and tried to catch his breath. He was feeling lethargic, emotionally, mentally and even physically. The dream had seemed so real and he had almost surrendered to Joyd if it wasn't for the familiar voice he had heard. The voice sounded like it belonged to Mana, a foreboding tone, sounding as if Mana had wanted him to snap out of his delirious state and wake up.

But it was just a dream... why would he be hearing Mana's voice in that particular dream? Did it mean something? Was it a warning? A sign that the mysterious male— Joyd was a threat to him?

He felt a sharp ache in his heart at that thought, but why that was, he wasn't ready to explore yet. His temples thudding dully and heavily in his skull, as he contemplated on those questions. He rolled to his side and closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down and clear his head, telling himself that Joyd was just a dream... or maybe a nightmare.

* * *

><p>Tyki intently watched as Allen opened his mouth, releasing a deep sigh as he writhed on the bed. The young exorcist wasn't fully intent on escaping anymore and had seemed to focus more on him, on his sweet kisses and playful caresses. It was actually quite nice to see the youth finally looking at him, concentrating only on his presence and his ministrations.<p>

A slim eyebrow raised in triumph as his free had started to wander along his victim's side. He caressed Allen's hip, still clad and protected by his loose, cotton pajamas, a shiver of delight running through his skin as he saw the obvious proof of desire between the boy's legs. He let out a smirk and slid his hand towards the obvious bulge that he knew would further drive the younger man crazy. He was only a few centimeters away when he suddenly felt a deep loss inside him, as though he was suddenly, even violently, snatched away from the prey he had secured in his grasp. Disappointment and frustration quickly filled his chest as he realized that he had lost Allen and he had failed to catch his prey.

* * *

><p>'<em><strong>Ah-ah~! Not on my watch, Joyd.'<strong>_

With a deceptively playful smile, the shadow picked up the deck of cards, shuffled it some, and took out the lone joker card found in the deck.

'_**I didn't become the Noah of Destruction for nothing, you know.'**_

Smiling wider as he leisurely held the card out, the dark being engulfed the glowing piece in his own shadow, his darkness spreading out to the item slowly, thickly, like clear water being polluted by crude oil, the light purple glow vanishing, diminished by opaque black.

* * *

><p>Back at the Noah manor, Tyki Mikk was astounded at what had just taken place. Looking at the joker card he held, a matching item of the lone joker from the deck he had given Allen, he watched as a black shadow slowly engulfed it, effectively eating away not only the new breed of golem he had implanted in the object, but feeling the power of 'Pleasure' he had infused onto the deck vanishing away to oblivion as well.<p>

"Hnm… Strange… Well, it seems my time's up soon, shounen… How about a parting gift?"

* * *

><p>Fear, uncertainty, and distrust— and a hint of desire— were evident in the young exorcist's eyes when he visited Allen in his dreams again, his lithe body leaning heavily against the wall, beads of sweat glowing like sparkling diamonds on the boy's forehead and neck as he languidly advanced towards him, unlike before however, the boy remained in place.<p>

'_He's starting to learn…'_ Grinning to himself, he continued his approach.

Tyki was lucky that he was able to go back to the dream world he controlled and was able to catch his pet once more. However, the portal was closing fast and with the time he had left, it wouldn't be enough to accomplish his real mission. Thinking quickly, he gracefully raised his hands and brought them to Allen's shoulders, feeling the small body in front of him shiver under his touch as he held him.

No words were spoken and the promise of his return was conveyed only by the pair of deep gold-copper irises as he gazed back at his victim. He felt his prey's breath hitch and even before the younger male could utter a word, he leaned down and attached his lips to the side of his neck, the salty yet alluring taste of the exorcist's skin assaulting his senses.

He didn't plant any kisses, instead, he worried on the small patch of skin, lightly yet persistently nipping and suckling on it.

A sharp gasp vibrated through Allen's throat, his body further clenching in restraint, trying to prevent the display of any kind of reaction. He knew the young boy was in denial of his feelings, that Allen was once again in a deadly battle with himself if he should allow himself to immerse in this pleasure or to push him away.

After what seemed like an eternity, he licked the patch of skin he had abused one last time and slowly withdrew from the boy, his glowing eyes gazing deeply and mischievously at his prey.

Allen just looked back, dark grey eyes clouded, still tainted with uncertainty, slight anger, and undeniable attraction.

Then, he looked at the mark he had left on his prey's skin. It was red as blood and it contrasted perfectly with Allen's pale white skin. With his index finger, he softly caressed his memento, a triumphant smirk appearing on his perfect lips before he spoke his parting message.

"Once this mark has vanished, I'll see you again, Allen."

* * *

><p><em><strong>*Footnotes:<strong>_

_Da Capo - In sheet music, an instruction to repeat the beginning of the piece before stopping on the final chord. _

"_Tearful that day,  
>on which will rise from ashes<br>guilty man for judgment…"_

_Rosanne- a man-eating flower which General Cross tasked Allen to take care of. [see v.5 of manga]_

_Lepidopterist- a butterfly/moth collector._


End file.
